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REMINISCENCES 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE 



m 1860-'61 



By ABNER DOUBLEDAY 



BREVET MAJOR-GENEKAL U. S. A. 







NEW YORK 

HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS 

FRANKLIN SQUARE 

1876 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by 

HARPER & BROTHERS, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Now that the prejudices and bitter partisan feel- 
ing of the past are subsiding, it seems a fitting time 
to record the facts and incidents connected with the 
first conflict of the Rebellion. Of the eleven officers 
who took part in the events herein narrated, but four 
now survive. Before the hastening years shall have 
partially obliterated many circumstances from my 
memory, and while there is still an opportunity for 
conference and friendly criticism, I desire to make, 
from letters, memoranda, and documents in my pos- 
session, a statement which will embody my own rec- 
ollections of the turbulent days of 1860 and 1861. 

I am aware that later and more absorbing events 
have caused the earlier struggles of the war to re- 
cede in the distance ; but those who were in active 
life at that time will not soon forget the thrill of 
emotion and sympathy which followed the move- 



INTRODUCTION. 



duty to unfold the flag of the Union against a united 
South in arms. 

I know how difiicult it is to write contemporane- 
ous liistory, or even to give a bare detail of facts, 
without w^ounding the susceptibilities of others ; but 
whenever I have felt called upon to give my own 
opinion, I have endeavored to do so in the spirit of 
Lincoln's immortal sentiment — "With malice to- 
ward none ; with charity for all." 



CONTENTS, 



CHAPTER I. 

FORT MOULTRIE IN 1860. 

The Garrison of Fort Moultrie. — Early Indications of Secession. — 
Situation of the Fort. — Edmund Ruffin and Robert Barnwell Rhett. 
— The Secretary of War. — Arms sent to the South. — Colonel Gard- 
ner. — Captain Foster ordered to Charleston Harbor. — The Officers 
at Fort Moultrie. — Communications with Northern Men by Ci- 
pher. — Proscription of Antislavery Men in Charleston. — Position of 
Charleston Merchants. — The Secession Leaders only prepared to 
resist Coercion. — The Mob proves Unmanageable. — General Scott's 
Letter to the President, October 29th. — The Situation in Novem- 
ber. — No Instructions from Washington. — Colonel Gardner's Re- 
port to General Wool Page 13 

CHAPTER II. 

PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENSE. 

Defeat of Captain Seymour's Expedition on the Ashley. — Mayor 
Macbeth 's Explanation. — Captain Foster's Work on Fort Moultrie. 
— Governor Gist convenes the South Carolina Legislature. — Crea- 
tion of a Standing Army. — Arrival of Masons from Baltimore. 
— Situation of Fort Sumter. — A Dramatic Incident. — Secretary 
Floyd's Action. — Horace Greeley's Advocacy of the Right of Se- 
-The Situation November 18th 30 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER III. 

PRELIMINARY MOVEMENTS OF THE SECESSIONISTS. 

Arrival of Major Anderson. — Huger's Opposition to a Premature As- 
sault on Fort Moultrie. — Anderson's Report to the Secretary of 
War, — ^Active Preparations by the South Carolinians. — Meeting 
of Congress. — Attempts at Compromise. — Secession Batteries at 
Mount Pleasant. — Arrival of Major Buell with Written Orders. — 
Vain Efforts to Strengthen Castle Pinckney. — Northern Opinion. 
— Public Meeting in Philadelphia Page 41 

CHAPTER IV. 

THE REMOVAL TO FORT SCMTER, 

Passage of the Secession Ordinance. — Governor Pickens's Procla- 
mation. — Judge Petigru's Visit to Fort Moultrie. — Floyd's Treach- 
ery. — Yancey's Lectures in the North. — The Removal to Sumter. 55 

CHAPTER V. 

THE FIRST OVERT ACT. 

The New Quarters. — Seizure of Castle Pinckney by Charleston 
Troops. — Raising the Flag at Fort Sumter. — The Sergeant's 
Daughter. — Major Anderson's Position. — The Charleston Troops 
take Fort Moultrie. — A Military Problem. — Condition of Fort 
Sumter. — Governor Pickens's Commission. — A New Outrage... 68 

CHAPTER VI. 

EFFECT OF ANDERSOn's MOVEMENT. 

President Buchanan Aroused. — Excitement in Charleston. — The Sit- 
uation at the Beginning of 1861. — Governor Pickens's War I\Ieas- 
ures. — "My heart was never in this War" 82 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE "star of the WEST." 

Promise of Succor. — Fatal Delay. — A Contumacious Chaplain. — 
Visit from our Ladies. — Governor Pickens's Cabinet. — Appearance 
of the Star of the West. — The Vessel fired upon from Morris 
Island and Fort Moultrie. — Major Anderson's Protest. — Governor 
Pickens's Reply Page 92 

CHAPTER VIII. 

A RESORT TO DIPLOMACY. 

Major Anderson's Proposed Diplomatic Negotiations. — Defensive 
Preparations. — Changes in the Cabinet. — Meade's Defection. — 
Anecdote of Governor Pickens.— Battery at Cummings Point. — 
Soldiers' Families Removed. — A Threatening Letter. — Confederate 
Visitors to the Fort. — Organization of the Confederate Govern- 
ment 107 

CHAPTER IX. 

THE CRISIS AT HAND, 

South Carolina's Grievances. — Inauguration of President Lincoln. — 
Determination to Re-enforce Sumter. — An Audacious Proposil. — 
The Shannon. — New Rebel Batteries Unmasked. — Formal Notice 
of Bombardment 123 

CHAPTER X. 

THE BOMBARDMENT, 

The First Shot, ^Defective Guns. — John Carmody's Exploit. — De- 
structive Effects of the Bombardment, — Burning of the Officers' 

Quarters. — Terrific Conflagration 143 

1* 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XI. 

THE EVACUATION. 

Senator Wigfall's Volunteer Mission. — Terms of Evacuation Settled. 
— The Question of Casualties on the Other Side. — Salute to the 
Flag. — Occupation of the Fort by Southern Troops. — Embarka- 
tion.— Welcome in New York. — Conclusion Page 161 

Appendix 179 



EEMINISCENCES OF 

FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE 

IN 1860-'61. 



CHAPTER I. 

rOKT MOULTRIE IN 1860. 

The Gavrison of Fort Moultrie. — Early Indications of Secession. — 
Situation of the Eort. — Edmund RufEn and Robert Barnwell Rhett. 
— The Secretary of War. — Arms sent to the South. — Colonel Gard- 
ner. — Captain Foster ordered to Charleston Harbor. — The Officers 
at Fort Moultrie. — Communications with Northern Men by Ci- 
pher. — Proscription of Antiskvery Men in Charleston. — Position of 
Charleston Merchants. — The Secession Leaders only prepared to 
resist Coercion. — The Mob proves unmanageable. — General Scott's 
Letter to the President, October 29. — The Situation in November. 
— No Instructions from Washington. — Colonel Gardner's Report to 
General Wool. 

The Slimmer of 1860 found me stationed at the 
head-quarters of the First United States Artillery at 
Fort Moultrie, South Carolina. I was captain of Com- 
pany E, and second in command to Brevet Colonel 



REMINISCENCES OF 



John L. Gardner, who was lieutenant-colonel of the 
regiment. The regimental band and Captain Tru- 
man Seymour's company (H) also formed part of the 
garrison. The other forts were unoccupied, except 
by the ordnance-sergeants in charge. 

Charleston, at this period, was far from being a 
pleasant place for a loyal man. Almost every public 
assemblage was tinctured with treasonable sentiments, 
and toasts against the flag were always warmly ap- 
plauded. As early as July there was much talk of 
secession, accompanied with constant drilling, and 
threats of taking the forts as soon as a separation 
should occur. 

To the South Carolinians Fort Moultrie was al- 
most a sacred spot, endeared by many precious his- 
torical associations ; for the ancestors of most of the 
principal families had fought there in the Revolu- 
tionary War behind their hastily improvised ram- 
parts of palmetto logs, and had gained a glorious vic- 
tory over the British fleet in its first attempt to enter 
the harbor and capture tlie city. 

The modern fort had been built nearly on the site 
of the ancient one. Its walls were but twelve feet 
high. They were old, weak, and so full of cracks 
that it was quite common to see soldiers climb to the 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 15 

top by means of the support these crevices afforded 
to their liands and feet. The constant action of tlie 
sea-breeze had drifted one immense heap of sand 
against the shore-front of the work, and another in 
tlie immediate vicinity. These sand-hills dominated 
the parapet, and made the fort untenable. Indeed, 
it was originally built by the engineers as a mere sea- 
battery, with just sufficient strength to prevent it from 
being taken by a coujp de main. As an overpower- 
ing force of militia .could always be summoned for 
its defense, it was' supposed that no foreign ai-my 
would ever attempt to besiege it. The contingency 
that the people of Charleston themselves might at- 
tack a fort intended for their own protection had 
never been antici23ated. 

Our force was pitifully small, even for a time of 
peace and for mere police purposes. It consisted of 
sixty -one enlisted men and seven officers, together 
with thirteen musicians of the regimental band ; 
whereas the work called for a war garrison of three 
hundred men. 

The first indication of actual danger came from 
Richmond, Virginia, in the shape of urgent inquiries 
as to the strength of our defenses, and the number of 
available troops in the harl)or. These questions were 



REMINISCENCES OF 



put by a resident of that city named Edmund Euffin ; 
an old man, whose later years had been devoted to 
the formation of disunion lodges, and who became 
subsequently noted for firing the first gun at Fort 
Sumter. His love of slavery amounted to fanati'cism. 
When the cause of the Kebellion became hopeless, 
he refused to survive it, and committed suicide. 

In the beginning of July, Robert Barnwell Rhett, 
and other ultra men in Charleston, made violent 
speeches to the mob, urging them to drive every Unit- 
ed States official out of the State ; but as many in- 
fiuential Secessionists were enjoying the sweets of 
Federal patronage under Buchanan, we did not an- 
ticipate any immediate disturbance. To influence 
his hearers still more, Rhett did not hesitate to state 
that Hamlin was a mulatto, and he asked if they in- 
tended to submit to a negro vice-president.* 

It is an interesting question to know how far at 
this period the Secretary of AVar himself was loyal. 
Mr. Dawson, the able editor of the ITistorical Maga- 
z{ne,\& of opinion, after a careful investigation of the 
facts, that Floyd at this time M-as true to the Union, 

* Hamlin's father named four of his sons, Europe, Asia, Africa, and 
America. The fact that one of them was called Africa gave rise to 
the statement that he was an African. 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 17 



and that lie remained so until December 24tli when 
it was discovered that he had been advancing large 
sums of money from the Treasury to contractors, to 
pay for work which ]iad never been commenced. To 
make the loss good, nearly a million of dollars was 
taken from the Indian Trust Fund. 

Finding he would be dismissed from the Cabinet 
for his complicity in these transactions, and would 
also be indicted by the Grand Jury of tlie District ^'' 
of Columbia, he made a furious Secession speech, 
sent in his resignation, and suddenlv left for the' 
South.* Mr. Dawson founds liis opinion in this case 
upon the statement of Fitz John Porter, who was a 
major on duty in the War Department at the time 
and therefore apparently well qualified to judo-e' 
Floyd's actions toward us, ho^vever, were not tho'se 
of a true man, and I am of opinion that his loyalty 
Avas merely assumed for the occasion. He sent sev- > 
enteen thousand muskets to South Carolina, when he 
knew that Charleston was a hot-bed of sedition, and 
that m all probability the arms would be used against 

* He afterward returned, gave bail, and appeared before the court 
because he was aware that a rule existed that parties who had given 
evidence before a Congressional comn^ittee in reference to any defai 
cation could not be tried for having taken part in it. 

/ ' >"i ■ ^ ''-■ J^ J ^ J > ff^ - 



^'i- ^ I 

' X (^ 



10s. I 



REMimSCENCES OF 



/< 



the United States, Greeley says, in his "American 
Conflict," that during these turbulent times Fk^yd 
disarmed the Government by forwarding one hun- 
dred and fifteen thousand muskets, in all, to the 
Southern Confederacy.* In addition to this, lie sold 
large quantities of arms to S. B, Lamar, of Savan- 
nah, and other Secessionists in the South, on the plea 
fthat the muskets thus disposed of did not conform to 
the latest army model. Just before his resignation, 
he continued the same policy by directing that one 
hundred and twenty -four heavy guns should be 
shipped from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, to Ship Island, 
Mississippi, where there was no garrison, and to Gal- 
veston, Texas. Yet this was the official upon whom 
we were to rely for advice and protection. This was 
the wolf who was to guard the fold. 

Our connnander, Colonel Gardner, had done good 
service in the War of 1S12 and in Mexico ; but now, 
owing to his advanced age, was ill fitted to weather 
the storm that was about to burst upon us. In poli- 

* It is true there is a law niithorizing the distribution of surplus 
United States arms to tlie States, but there were no surplus muskets 
on hand ; and even if there had been, it was a very injudicious time to 
distribute them among the insurgent States. A little delay would have 
been botli patriotic and judicious. 



/JjZJ j« 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 19 

tics he was quite Southern, frequently asserting that 
the South had Been treated outrageously in the ques- 
tion of the Territories, and defrauded of her just rights 
in other respects. He acquiesced, however, in the 
necessity of defending the fort should it be attacked ; 
but as he lived with his family outside of the walls, 
he could not take a very active part himself. In- 
deed, on one occasion, when a Secession meeting wa^,^S«il^m^ 
held in our immediate vicinity, accompanied with 
many threats and noisy demonstrations, he sent word 
to me to assume command at once in his place. 

He now found himself in a peculiar position. The 
populace were becoming excited, and there was every 
probability that a collision, accidental or otlierwise, 
might occur at any moment between the troops and 
the mob outside, if not between the troops and the 
State militia. The dilemma which confronted him 
was either to make a disgraceful surrender of his 
command, or take the other alternative, and fight 
South Carolina single-handed, without the aid or co- 
operation of the General Government. He thought 
the difficulty might perhaps be solved by removing 
the garrison to Smitliville, North Carolina, having 
received permission to do so, in case the yellow fe- 
ver, which had proved so disastrous the previous year, 



REMINISCENCES OF 



should break out again. Strange to say, some of the 
most ultra papers in the Southern interest in New 
York and Charleston ridiculed the proposed move- 
ment. They probably feared that our absence might 
deprive the conspirators of the prestige of an easy 
victory. 

By the middle of August the country people be- 
gan to be quite violent in their language, and made 
many threats of what they would do in case of Lin- 
coln's election. 

While the rebellion was thus drifting onward, the 
North remained quiescent, utterly refusing to believe 
in the existence of any real danger. Yet it was pub- 
licly known that, although the Southern States had 
refused to commit themselves to Secession, they were 
pledged not to allow South Carolina to be coerced, 
and this practically amounted to a powerful league 
against the Union, since it was a combination to 
prevent the enforcement of the laws which bound 
the States together. 

As we were liable to be attacked at any moment, 
we desired to get rid of the sand-hills which domi- 
nated our walls. To this end we applied to the 
Quartermaster-general (General Joseph E. Johnston) 
for authority to hire citizen laborers ; but he declined 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. . 21 

to accede to the request, on tlie ground tliat the work 
did not properly appertain to his department. He 
was a nephew of Floyd., and soon went over to the 
enemy. With the exception of Robert E. Lee, he 
subsequently became the most noted of all the rebel 
generals. 

We were gratified, about the 1st of September, at 
seeing some signs of life in the Secretary of War, 
which seemed to show that he appreciated our dan- 
gers and difficulties. He ordered First Lieutenant 
and Brevet Captain John G. Foster, of the engineers, 
to repair to Fort Moultrie, and put that and the oth- 
er defenses of Charleston harbor in perfect order. 
The reason privately assigned for this was that we 
were drifting into complications with England and 
France with reference to Mexico. For one, I ga\e 
the honorable secretary very little credit for this 
proceeding, inasmuch as he had just previous to this 
forwarded to South Carolina the means of arming 
and equipping se\enteen thousand men against the 
United States. I, therefore, came to the conclu- 
sion that the forts Avere to be made ready for active 
service, in order that they might be turned over in 
that condition to the Southern League. 

IVo young lieutenants of engineers, G. W. Snvder 



REMINISCENCES OF 



and E.. K. Meade, were soon after sent to Foster as 
assistants. 

And here it may be well to speak of the officers 
of our command, as they were at that period. The 
record of their services afterward, during the rebell- 
ion, would constitute a volume in itself. 

Colonel John L. Gardner was wounded in the war 
with Great Britain in 1812. He had also been en- 
gaged in the war against the Florida Indians, and 
the war with Mexico, receiving two brevets for the 
battles of Cerro Gordo and Contreras. 

Seymour, Foster, and myself had also served in 
Mexico as second lieutenants on our first entrance 
into the arni}^, and Davis as a non-commissioned offi- 
cer of an Indiana regiment. 

John G. Foster, severely wounded at Molino del 
E-ey, and brevetted captain, was one of the most 
fearless and reliable men in the service. 

Captain Truman Seymour, twice brevetted for 
gallantry at Cerro Gordo and Cherubusco, was an 
excellent artillery officer, full of invention and re- 
source, a lover of poetry, and an adept at music and 
painting. 

First Lieutenant Jefferson C. Davis, brave, gener- 
ous, and impetuous — the boy-sergeant of Buena Yis- 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 23 

ta — won his first commission in the regular army by 
liis gallantry in that action. 

First Lieutenant Theodore Talbot, when very young, 
had shared the dangers, privations, and sufferings of 
Fremont's party in their explorations to open a path- 
way across the continent. He was a cultivated man, 
and a representative of the chivah-y of Kentucky, 
equally ready to meet his friend at the festive board, 
or his eneni}' at ten paces. 

Doctor S. Wiley Crawford, our assistant surgeon, en- 
tered the service after the Mexican war. He was a 
genial companion, studious, and full of varied infor- 
mation. His ambition to win a name as a soldier 
soon induced him to quit the ranks of the medical 
profession. 

Hall, Snyder, and Meade were recent graduates of 
the Academy, who had never seen active service in 
the field. They were full of zeal, intelligence, and 
energy. 

In one respect we were quite fortunate : the habits 
of the officers were good, and there was no dissipa- 
tion or drunkenness in the garrison. The majority 
of the men, too, were old soldiers, who could be thor- 
oughly relied upon under all circumstances. 

There was, also, one civilian with us, Mr. Edward 



24 REMINISCENCES OF 

Moale, who was clerk and brother-in-law to Captain 
Foster. His services were subsequently very valua- 
ble in many ways. 

Fearing that in the course of events our corre- 
spondence might be tampei-ed with, I invented a ci- 
pher which afterward proved to be very useful. It 
enabled me to communicate, through my brother in 
New York, much valuable information to Mr. Lin- 
coln at Springfield, Preston King, Roscoe Conkling, 
and other leaders of public opinion, in relation to our 
strength and resources." 

Situated as we were, we naturally desired to know 
how far Mr. Buchanan's Cabinet was willing to sus- 
tain us. William H. Trescott of. South Carolina, was 
Assistant Secretary of State at this time, and frequent- 
ly corresponded with his brother, Doctor Trescott, in 
Charleston. We, therefore, naturally thought the views 
of \X\Q latter might in'directly reflect those of the Ad- 
ministration. The doctor was of opinion there would 
be no attempt at coercion in case South Carolina se- 
ceded, but that all postal and telegrai^hic commnni- 

* My brother and myself each owned copies of the same dictionary. 
Instead of using a word in my correspondence, I simply referred to its 
place in the book, by giving the number of the page, number of the 
column, and number of the word from the top of the page. 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 25 

cation would cease, and a man-of-war be placed out- 
side to collect tlie revernie. This arrangement w^ould 
leave our little force isolated and deserted, to bear 
the brunt of whatever might occur. 

In October the diaunionists became more bitter, 
but they were not disposed to be aggressive, as they 
thought Buchanan could be relied upon not to take 
any decisive action against them. 

Colonel Gardner would not at this time mount the 
guns, or take any precautions whatever. He alleged, 
with reason, that the work was all torn to pieces by 
the engineers ; that it was full of debris, and that, 
under the circumstances, he was not responsible for 
any thing that might happen. We had been prom- 
ised a considerable number of recruits, but they wei-e 
kept back ; and we now ascertained that none would 
be sent until late in December, after the crisis was 
over. 

In the latter part of the month I became quite un- 
popular in Charleston ; partly on account of my anti- 
slavery sentiments, but more especially because some 
very offensive articles, written from that city, had ap- 
peared in the Northern papers, and were attributed to 
me. It seems that at this very time an abolition cor- 
respondent of the Weill York Tribune was employed 
2 



2 6 REMINISCENCES OF 

ill tlie office of Rhett's paper, the Charleston Mercu- 
ry. This man professed to be the most loud-mouthed 
secessionist of them all In conversation with me 
afterward, he claimed to be the author of the arti- 
cles referred to. 

In truth, these were days of extraordinary proscrip- 
tion for opinion's sake. I heard with profound indig- 
nation of the case of a poor seamstress from Kew 
York, who had been sent to jail in Charleston simply 
for stating tha£ she did not believe in the institution 
of slavery. On appealing to the then mayor of New 
York, Fernando Wood, he replied that he was re- 
joiced she was in prison, and hoped she would be 
kept there. 

Toward the close of the month, the South Carolina 
leaders began to fear that the other Southern States 
would not join them, and were engaged in discussing 
the subject of a French protectorate. 

The negroes overheard a great deal that was said 
by their masters, and in consequence became excited 
arid troublesome, for the news flew like wild -fire 
among them that " Massa Linkum " w'as coming to 
set them all free. • 

The enthusiasm of the moneyed men in Charleston 
began to cool when they reflected upon the enormous 



FORTS SUMTER AND 310 UL TRIE. 27 

expenses involved in keeping up a standing army in 
an agricultural State like South Carolina. At the re- 
quest of some Union men, Captain Seymour made a 
startling exhibit, showing the large amount required 
to maintain even a moderate force. It had a good 
effect upon the merchants, and, indeed, if the other 
Southern States had not promptly sustained South Car- 
olina, the movement must have soon collapsed from 
its inherent weakness. 

Although the secession leaders were preparing to 
meet coercion, if it should come, I will do them the 
justice to say that they determined to commit no 
overt act against the Union so long as the State formed 
an integral part of it. They soon found, liowever, 
that the mob did not recognize these fine distinctions. 
It was easy to raise the storm, but, once under full 
headway, it was difficult to govern it. Independent 
companies and minute-men were everywhere form- 
ing, in opposition to their wishes ; for these organiza- 
tions, from their very nature, were quite unmanage- 
able. The military commanders much preferred the 
State militia, because they could control it by law. 
A gentleman from the country, who had joined the 
minute-men, came in one day to the Charleston Hotel, 
with a huge cockade on his hat, expecting to be re- 



28 REMINISCENCES OF 

ceived with great applause ; but, to his astonishment, 
he was greeted with laughter and ridicule. 

On the 29th of October, General Scott wrote his 
celebrated letter to the President, recommending 
that strong garrisons be placed at once in all the 
Southern forts. Undoubtedly this was good advice ; 
but as our array was widely scattered all over the 
West to protect the frontier settlements from the 
Indians, only five small companies were available for 
the purpose. The suggestion, therefore, had but lit- 
tle practical value. 

November had arrived. The muttering of the 
storm was heard all around us, and yet not one word 
of counsel or encouragement came from Washing- 
ton. Colonel Gardner began to feel uneasy at this 
studied silence, and determined to place the responsi- 
bility of any disaster that might occur where it prop- 
erly belonged. On the 1st of the month he made a 
full report to- his next superior officer, General Wool, 
at Troy, New York, to be forwarded to the Secretary 
of War, in relation to the dangers that threatened us, 
and our imperfect means of defense. He notified 
them that our provisions would be exhausted by the 
20th of the month, and that we were very deficient 
in ammunition and military supplies generally. The 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 29 

secretary, in his answer to this communication, sim- 
ply expressed his regret that he had not been in- 
formed of all this before. This sympathy was no 
doubt very gratifying ; but, being of an entirely pas- 
sive nature, did not benefit us in the least. Colonel 
Gardner, at our solicitation, directed that the guns 
which had been dismounted to enable the engineers 
to make their repairs be remounted at once, and 
Seymour's company and mine soon placed them in 
position. It was of little use, however, to have our 
armament in readiness, unless the approaches to the 
fort could be carefully watched. This it was impos- 
sible to do by the ordinary system of guard duty ; 
but I suggested a plan which enabled us to have an 
ample number of sentinels, without exhausting the 
men. It was done by placing each man on guard 
for a single hour, between tattoo and reveille, allow- 
ing him to sleep for the remainder of the night. 



so REMINISCENCES OF 



CHAPTER 11. 

PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENSE. 

Defeat of Captain Seymour's Expedition on the Ashley. — Mayor 
Macbeth's Explanation. — Captain Foster's Work on Fort Moultrie. 
— Governor Gist convenes the South Carolina Legislature. — Crea- 
tion of a Standing Army. — Arrival of Masons from Baltimore. 
— Situation of Fort Sumter. — A Dramatic Incident. — Secretary 
Floyd's Action. — Horace Greeley's Advocacy of the Right of Se- 
cession. — The Situation November 18th. 

The United States Arsenal in Charleston is sitn- 
ated on the banks of the Ashley River. It looked 
feasible to go tliere in a boat without attracting at- 
tention, and procure a full supply of cartridges and 
other articles which were very much needed. Cap- 
tain "Seymour volunteered for the service, and was 
sent over witli a small party, early in the afternoon. 
Notwithstanding lie took every precautfon, some spy 
belonging to a vigilance committee followed him, 
and reported the facts in the city. Seymour at once 
found himself beset by an excited mob, and wholly 
prevented fi'om accomplishing the object of his mis- 
sion. Colonel Gardner wrote to Mayor Macbeth for 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 31 

an explanation. The latter apologized politely for 
this unexpected occurrence, and, speaking for himself 
and other city officials, stated that so long as they 
staid in the Union they desired to remain faithful to 
its obligations, and that no further obstacles would 
be thrown in the way of another expedition. Col- 
onel Gardner, however, did not send out again, think- 
ing, perhaps, the mob might be beyond the control 
of the mayor. 

Since his arrival, Captain Foster liad been hard at 
work on the fort. He had hired laborers from the 
vicinity of Charleston, and had sent to Baltimore for 
a large number of masons who had formerly worked 
for him. In spite of his efforts, we were still in a 
very weak condition, and unable to defend ourselves. 
It is true the sand had been removed from the sea- 
face of the work ; but as that front had no flanking 
defenses, the angles in the wall were torn down to 
enable the engineers to construct double caponieres 
there. This left great gaps, through which an as- 
saulting party could penetrate at any moment. Per- 
haps in one sense it added to our security, for there 
was no glory to be acquired in capturing a fort 
which was wide open and defenseless. Crowds of 
excited countrymen, wearing secession cockades, con- 



32 REMINISCENCES OF 

stantly came to visit the work ; and on the 3d of No- 
vember they formed in procession and marched 
around it, but did not offer any violence. 

It may not be improper to state that I was the 
only officer of the command who favored Lincoln's 
election. As regards my companions, however, there 
was no difference of opinion in regard to sustaining 
the new President should he be legally elected, and 
they were all both willing and anxious to defend the 
fort confided to their honor. 

In view of the probable success of the Eepublican 
candidate for tlie presidency, Governor Gist called 
the South Carolina Legislature together, to meet on 
Monday, the 5th of November. In his message he 
recommended the immediate formation of a stand- 
ing ^rmy of ten thousand men ; and that all pei'sons 
between the ages of eighteen and forty-five be armed 
for immediate service. In consequence of this rec- 
ommendation, by the 9th of November the whole 
State was swarming with minute-men. 

The spark came at last which was to set fire to the 
magazine. The startling news of Lincoln's election 
reached Charleston on the 7th of November. As 
this e\ent was sure to lead to secession, the Disunion- 
ists were wild with delight. In their exuberance of 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 33 

spirits, they i-an through the streets shouting " Hurra 
for Lincoln !" The United States District Court, 
which was in session, at once broke up, and its judge, 
Magrath, sent in his resignation. In the evening of 
tlie same day, Edmund Ruffin, who has already been 
referred to, made a fiery secession speech to an im- 
mense audience at the capitol of the State. The 
Legislature, inflamed by public sentiment, called a 
convention, to meet on the 17th of the month, to de- 
cide the question of secession. Governor Joseph E. 
Brown, of Georgia, also called a convention there for 
the same purpose ; and the excitement in each State 
constantly reacted on the other. 

In the early part of November, one hundred and 
fifty masons arrived from Baltimore to work on the 
forts in the harbor. They were undoubtedly good 
workmen, but it is much to be regretted that they 
w^ere not also good Unionists. Captain Foster at 
this time did not believe that any serious complica- 
tions would arise from the attitude South Carohna 
had assumed, and did not, therefore, think it neces- 
sary to pay any attention to the politics of his labor- 
ers. Had he selected zealous Union men, their ar- 
rival would have been a most opportune re-enforce- 
ment for the garrison. Unfortunately, most of them 
2* 



34 REMINISCENCES OF 

sympathized with the South, and their coining was 
rather a source of weakness than of strength, so far 
as actual fighting was concerned. They rendered us, 
however, great and timely assistance by their labor. 

The first thing that attracted the eye of the stran- 
ger, upon approaching Charleston from the sea, was 
Fort Sumter. It was built on an artificial island 
made of large blocks of stone. The walls were of 
dark brick, and designed for three tiers of guns. 
The whole structure, as it rose abruptly out of the 
water, had a gloomy, prison-like appearance. It was 
situated on the edge of the cliannel, in the narrow- 
est part of the harbor, between Fort Moultrie and 
Cummings Point, distant about a mile from the 
former place, and twelve hundred yards from the 
latter. The year before, it had been used by us as 
a temporary place of confinement and security for 
some negroes that liad been brought over from Af- 
rica in a slaver captured by one of our naval vessels. 
The inevitable conflict was very near breaking out 
at that time ; for there was an eager desire on the 
part of all the people around us to seize these negroes, 
and distribute them among the plantations ; and if the 
Government had not acted promptly in sending them 
back to Africa, I think an attempt would have been 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 35 

made to take them from lis by force, on the ground 
that some of them had violated a State law by land- 
ing at Moultrieville. 

As Fort Snmter has considerable historic renown, 
it may not be uninteresting to relate another incident 
connected with it, although it is not germane to my 
narrative. In 1859, after the negroes were taken 
away, the fort remained in charge of an ordnance-ser- 
geant, who lived there alone with his wife and two 
little children. Supplies were sent to him regularly, 
but in case of emergency he could only communicate 
with the shore by means of a small boat. Que wild 
stormy day, when the whid was blowing a gale, he 
was suddenly struck down with yellow fever. His 
wife saw that if he did not have immediate medical 
assistance he would die. She herself could not go, 
as he required constant attention, and the children 
Avere too young to be of any service. A day passed 
on, and it became evident that he was growing worse. 
In a frantic state of mind, she rushed up to'the top 
of the fort, waved a sheet backward and forward, and 
raised and lowered the garrison flag repeatedly, in 
hopes of attracting the attention of some passing ves- 
sel ; but although several went by, no one seemed to 
notice the signals, or, if they did, they would not stop, 



36 REMINISCENCES OF 

on account of tlie tempest, whicli still continued. She 
then took the desperate resohition of putting her two 
little children in the small boat, and trusting to the 
flood-tide to drift them somewhere in the vicinity of 
Charleston. She placed a letter in the hand of one 
of them, to be given to the first person they met, im- 
ploring that a physician might be sent to her at once. 
It was a terrible experiment, for the children might 
easily have been swept out to sea by the ebb-tide be- 
fore they could make a landing. They succeeded, 
however, in reaching the shore near Mount Pleasant. 
A doctor finally arrived, but too late to be of any 
service. 

Foster wanted forty muskets to arm some of his 
workmen, as a guard for the powder in Fort Sumter, 
and for valuable public property in Castle Pinckney. 
This was approved at Washington ; but the moment 
he obtained the guns from the arsenal, the Secretary 
of War hastily telegraphed him, in the middle of the 
night, to send them back again immediately. And yet 
at this same period two thousand additional United 
States muskets were forwarded by Floyd's order to 
South Carolina ; and the Charleston Courier stated 
that five thousand more were on their way. This did 
not look much as if the Administration intended to 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 37 

sustain us. Wliile the honorable secretary was thus 
supplying our enemies with arms, and leaving the 
United States Arsenal in Charleston, full of military 
stores, without a guard, he was very solicitous to as- 
certain whether our garrison duties were accurately 
performed, and sent an assistant inspector -general, 
Major Fitz John Porter, to make a thorough exam- 
ination. As the secretary intended neither to re-en- 
force nor withdraw us, and as he made no effort at any 
time to remedy defects in our armament, this inspec- 
tion seemed to us to be a mere pretense. It resulted, 
howevei', in relieving Colonel Gaidner from his com- 
mand, on Porter's recommendation. Major Eobert 
Anderson being ordered to take his place. 

Mr. Greeley was at this time the head of the Re- 
publican party, and one- of the great leaders of North- 
ern opinion. His immense services in rousing the pub- 
lic mind to the evils of slavery can not be overesti- 
mated, but some of his views were too hastily formed 
and promulgated. In this crisis of our history he 
injured the cause he afterward so eloquently advo- 
cated by publishing an opinion, on the 9th of Novem- 
ber, that the South had a perfect right to secede when- 
ever a majority thought proper to do so; and, in an- 
other communication, he stated that the Union could 



38 REMINISCENCES OF 

not be pinned together with bayonets. General Scott 
was also at one time in favor of letting the " wayward 
sisters depart in peace ;" and I liave heard on good an- 
thority that at least one member of the Cabinet and 
one leading general, appalled by the magnitude of 
the conflict, were willing to consent to a separation, 
provided the Border States would go with the North. 
Greeley's article went farther than this, for it seemed 
to favor a simple severance of the North and the 
South. This was not only a A'irtual abandonment of 
the rights of Northern men who had invested their 
ca])ital in the Southern States, bnt it amounted to giv- 
ing up all the sea-coast and magnificent harbors south 
of New Jersey, including Chesapeake Bay. It was 
expressing a willingness to surrender the moutli of 
tlie Mississippi, the commerce of the great North-west, 
and the Capitol at Washington, to the control of a for- 
eign nation, hostile to us from the very nature of its 
institutions. In fact, it was a proposition to commit 
national suicide. The new Northern republic would 
have been three thousand miles long, and only one 
hnndred miles wide, in the vicinity of Wheeling. A- 
country of snch a peculiar shape could not, as every 
military man knows, have been successfully defended, 
and mnst inevitably have soon broken np into small 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 39 

confederacies. We objected, with reason, to the for- 
mation of a European monarchy in far-off Mexico, 
but the proposed separation would have created a 
powerful slave empire, with its northern border with- 
in eighteen miles of Philadelphia. Once firmly es- 
tablished there and along the Ohio, the Southern 
army could have burned Cincinnati from the oppo- 
site shore, and have penetrated to Lake Erie by a sin- 
gle successful battle and march, permanently sever- 
ing the East from the West. 

These unexpected views of Mr. Greeley strength- 
ened the hands of the Disunion ists. They were ev- 
erywhere quoted as evidence that no attempt would 
be made to interfei-e with or coerce the South. The 
fearful and wavering were thus induced to join the 
clamorous majority. 

I think, too, that the publication of these senti- 
ments did much to influence the after-conduct of 
Major Anderson. He was not a Eepublican himself, 
and he may very well have thought, if the Republic- 
an leaders did not deny the right of secession, there 
was little use in his sacrificing his small command in 
a feeble attempt to make South Carolina remain in 
the Union. 

The sky darkened after this, for Georgia voted a 



40 REMINISCENCES OF 

million of dollars to raise troops, and it became evi- 
dent that the other Southern States would follow in 
the same direction. 

By the 18th of November we considered ourselves 
reasonably secure against a oouj>-de-main. Our guns 
were up, and loaded with canister, and we had a fair 
supply of hand-grenades ready for use. Witli a 
view to intimidate those who were planning an at- 
tack, I occasionally fired toward the sea an eight-inch 
howitzer, loaded with double canister. The spatter- 
ing of so ra'any balls in the water looked very de- 
structive, and startled and amazed the gaping crowds 
around. I also amused myself by making some small 
mines, which would throw a shell a few feet out of 
the ground whenever any person accidentally trod 
upon a concealed plank : of course the shell did not 
have a bursting charge in it. Tliese experiments 
had a cooling effect upon the ardor of Ihe militia, 
who did not fancy storming the fort over a line of 
torpedoes. 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 41 



CHAPTER III. 

PEELIMINAEY MOVEMENTS OF THE SECESSIONISTS. 

Arrival of Major Anderson. — Huger's Opposition to a premature As- 
sault on Fort Moultrie. — Anderson's Report to the Secretary of 
War. — Active Preparations by the South Carolinians. — Meeting 
of Congress. — Attempts at Compromise. — Secession Batteries at 
Mount Pleasant. — Arrival of Major Buell with written Orders. — 
Vain Efforts to Strengthen Castle Pinckney.— Northern Opinion. 
— Public Meeting in Philadelphia. 

It was now openly proclaimed in Charleston that 
declarations in favor of the Union would no longer 
be tolerated ; that the time for deliberation had 
passed, and the time for action had come. 

On the 21st our new commander arrived and as- 
sumed command. He felt as if he had a hereditary 
right to be there, for his father had djstingnished 
himself in the Revolutionary War in defense of old 
Fort Moultrie against the British, and had been con- 
fined a long time as a prisoner in Charleston. We 
had long known Anderson as a gentleman ; courte- 
ous, honest, intelligent, and thoroughly versed in his 



42 REMINISCENCES OF 

profession, lie had been twice bre vetted for gal- 
lantry — once for services against the Seminole In- 
dians in Florida, and once for the battle of Molino 
del Eey in Mexico, where he was badly wounded. 
In politics he was a strong pro-slavery man. N'ever- 
theless, he w\as opposed to secession and Southern ex- 
tremists. He soon found himself in troubled waters, 
for the approaching battle of Fort Moultrie was 
talked of everywhere throughout the State, and the 
mob in Charleston could hardly be restrained from 
making an immediate assault. They were kept back 
once through the exertions of Colonel Benjamin 
Huger, of the Ordnance Department of the United 
States Army. As he belonged to one of the most 
distinguislied families in Charleston, he had great in- 
fluence there. It was said at the time that he threat- 
ened if we were at'tacked, or rather mobbed, in this 
way, he would join us, and fight by the side of his 
friend Anderson." Colonel Memminger, afterward 
the Confederate Secretary of the Treasury, also exert- 

* He left the United States service soon after the attack on Fort 
Sumter, and joined the Confederates. He did so rehietantly, for he 
had gained great renown in our army for his gallantry in Mexico, and 
he knew he would soon have been promoted to the position of Chief 
of our Ordnance Department had he remained with us. 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 43 

ed himself to prevent any irregular and nnautliorized 
violence. 

An additional force of workmen having arrived- 
from Baltimore, Captain Foster retained one hundred 
and twenty to continue the work on Fort Moultrie, 
leaving his assistant, Lieutenant Snyder, one hundred 
and nine men to finish Fort Sumter. 

On the 1st of December, Major Anderson made a 
full report to Secretary Floyd in relation to our con- 
dition and resources. It was accompanied with req- 
uisitions, in due form, for supplies and military ma- 
terial. Colonel Gardner, before he left, had already 
applied for rations for the entire command for six 
months. 

Previous to Lincoln's election, Governor Gist had 
stated that in that event the State would nndoubted- 
ly secede, and demand the forts, and that any hesita- 
tion or delay in giving them np would lead to an im- 
mediate assault. Active preparations were now in 
progress to cany out this threat. In the first weeic 
of December we learned that cannon had been se- 
cretly sent to the northern extremity of the island, 
to guard the channel and oppose the passage of any 
vessels bringing us re-enforcements by that entrance. 
"We learned, too, that lines of countervallation had 



44 REMINISCENCES OF 

been quietly marked out at night, with a view to at- 
tack the fort by regular approaches in case the first 
assault failed. Also, that two thousand of the best 
riflemen in the State were engaged to occupy an ad- 
jacent sand-hill and the roofs of the adjoining houses, 
all of which overlooked the parapet, the intention be- 
ing to shoot us down the moment we attempted to man 
our guns. Yet the Administration made no arrange- 
ments to withdraw us, and no effort to re-enforce us, 
because to do the former would excite great indigna- 
tion in the North, and the latter might be treated as 
coercion by the South. So we were left to our own 
scanty resources, with every probability that the af- 
fair would end in a massacre. Under these circum- 
stances the appropriating of $150,000 to repair Fort 
Moultrie and $80,000 to finish Fort Sumter by the 
mere order of the Secretary of War, witliout the 
authority of Congress, was simply an expenditure of 
public money for the -benefit of the Secessionists, and 
I have no doubt it was so intended. Forts construct- 
ed in an enemy's country, and left unguarded, are 
built for the enemy. 

Congress met on the 3d of December, but took no 
action in relation to our peculiar position. As usual, 
their whole idea was to settle the matter by some new 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 45 

compromise. The old experiment was to be tried 
over again : St. Michael and the Dragon were to lie 
down in peace, and become boon companions once 
more. 

The office-holders in the Sonth, who saw in Lin- 
coln's election an end to their pay and emoluments, 
were Secessionists to a man, and did their best to 
keep up the excitement. They tried to make the 
poor whites believe that throngh the re-opening of the 
African slave-trade negroes would be for sale, in a 
short time, at thirty dollars a head ; and that every 
laboring man would soon become a rich slave-owner 
and cotton-planter. To the timid, they said there 
would be no coercion. To the ambitious, they spoke 
of military glory, and the formation of a vast slave 
empire, to include Mexico, Central America, and the 
West Indies. The merchants were assured that 
Charleston would be a free port, rivaling New York 
in its trade and opulence. 

They painted the future in glowing colors, but the 
present looked dreary enough. All business was at 
an end. The expenses of the State had become enor- 
mous, and financial ruin was rapidly approaching. 
The heavy property-owners began to fear they might 
have to bear the brunt of all these military prepara- 



46 REMINISCENCES OF 

tions in the way of forced . loans.* For a time a 
strong reaction set in against the Rhett faction, but 
intimidation and tlireats prevented any open retro- 
grade movement. 

Among those who were reported to be most clam- 
orous to have an immediate attack made upon us, 
was a certain captain of the United States Dragoons, 
named Lucius B. Northrup ; afterward made Pay- 
master-general of South Carolina, and subsequently, 
through the personal friendship of Jeff. Davis, pro- 
moted to be Commissary-general of the rebel army. 
He had resided for several years in Cliarleston on 
sick-leave, on full pay. Before ui-ging an assault he 
should have had the grace to resign his commission, 
for his oath of office bound him to be a friend to his 
comrades in the army, and not an enemy. I am 
tempted, in this connection, to show how differently 
the rebel general Magruder acted, nnder similar cir- 
cumstances, when he was a captain and brevet col- 
onel in our service. He said to his officers, the even- 
ing before he rode over the Long Bridge, at Wash- 

* About a month aftenvavd the Honorable William Aiken, who 
was a Union man, and who had formerly been governor of the State, 
and a member of Congress, was compelled to pay forty thousand dol- 
lars as his share of the war taxes. 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 47 

iiigton, to join the Confederates, " If the rebels come 
to-night, we'll give them hell ; but to-morrow I shall 
send in my resignation, and become a rebel my- 
self." 

Amidst all this tnrmoil, our little band of regulars 
kept their spirits up, and determined to fight it out 
to the last against any force that might be brought 
against them. The brick-layers, however, at work in 
Fort Sumter were considerably frightened. They 
held a meeting, and resolved to defend themselves, if 
attacked b}' the Charleston roughs, but not to resist 
any organized force. 

On the 11th of December we had the good for- 
tune to get our provisions from town without excit- 
ing obser\atiou. They had been lying there several 
days. It was afterward stated in the papers that the 
captain of the schooner was threatened severely for 
having brought them. On the same day the enemy 
began to build batteries at Mount Pleasant, and at 
the upper end of Sullivan's Island, guns having al- 
ready been sent there. We also heard tliat ladders 
had been provided for parties to escalade our Myalls. 
Indeed, the proposed attack was no longer a secret. 
Gentlemen from the city said to us, " We appreciate 
your position. It is a point of honor with you to 



REMINISCENCES OF 



liold the fort, but a political necessity obliges us to 
take it." 

My wife, becoming indignant at these preparations, 
and the utter apathy of the Government in regard to 
our affairs, wrote a stirring letter to my brother, in 
New York, stating some of the facts I have mentioned. 
By some means it found its way into the columns of 
the Evening Post, and did mucii to call attention to 
the subject, and awaken the Northern people to a true 
sense of the situation. She was quite distressed to 
find her hasty expressions in print, and freely com- 
mented on both by friends and enemies. I may say, 
in passing, that tlie distinguished editor of that paper, 
William Cullen Bryant, proved to be one of the best 
friends we had at the North. George W. Curtis, who 
aided us freely with his pen and influence, was anoth- 
er. They exerted themselves to benefit us in every 
way, and were among the first to invoke the patriot- 
ism of the nation to extricate us from our difliculties, 
and save the union of the States. When we returned 
to New York, they and their friends gave us a cordial 
and lieartfelt M'elcome. 

To resume the thread of my narrative. The fort 
by this time had been considerably strengthened. 
The crevices were filled up, and the walls were made 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 49 

sixteen feet high, by digging down to the foundations 
and throwing up the surphis earth as a glacis. Each 
of the officers had a certain portion given him to de- 
feud. I caused a sloping picket fence, technically 
called a /raise, to be projected over the parapet on 
ray side of the work, as an obstacle against an esca- 
lading party. I understood that this puzzled the mil- 
itary men and newspapers in Charleston exceedingly. 
They could not imagine what object I could have in 
view. One of the editors said, in reference to it, 
" Make ready your sharpened stakes, but you will not 
intimidate freemen." 

There was one good reason why our opponents did 
not desire to commence immediate hostilities. The 
delay was manifestly to their ad\antage, for the en- 
gineers were putting Fort Sumter in good condition 
at the expense of the United States. They (the reb- 
els) intended to occupy it as soon as the work ap- 
proached completion. In the mean time, to prevent 
our anticipating them, they kept two steamers on 
guard, to patrol the harbor, and keep us from cross- 
ing. These boats contained one Inmdred and twenty 
soldiers, and were under the command of Ex-lieuten-^ 
ant James Hamilton, who had recently resigned from 
the United States Navy. 

3 



50 REMINISCENCES OF 

The threatening movements against Fort Moultrie 
required incessant vigilance on our part, and we were 
frequently worn out with watching and fatigue. On 
one of these occasions Mrs. Seymour and Mrs. Dou- 
bleday volunteered to take the places of Captain Sey- 
mour and myself, and they took turns in walking the 
parapet, two hours at a time, in readiness to notify 
the guard in case the minute-men became more than 
usually demonstrative. 

In December the secretery sent another officer 
of the Inspector- general's Department, Major Don 
Carlos Buell, to examine and report upon our con- 
dition. Buell bore written orders, which were pre- 
sented on the 11th, directing' Major Anderson not to 
provoke hostilities, but in case of immediate danger 
to defend himself to the last extremity, and take any 
steps that he might think necessary for that purpose. 
There would appear to be some mystery connected 
with this subject, for Anderson afterward stated to 
Seymour, as a reason for not firing when the rebels 
attempted to sink the Star of the West^ that his in- 
structions tied his hands, and obliged him to remain 
quiescent. Now, as there are no orders of this char- 
acter on record in the War Department, they must 
have been of a verbal and confidential nature. In 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 51 

my opinion, Floyd was fnlly capable of supplemeut- 
iiig written orders to resist, by verbal orders to sur- 
render without resistance. If he did so, I can con- 
ceive of nothing more treacherous, for his object 
must have been to make Anderson the scape-goat of 
whatever might occur. Buell, however, is not the 
man to be the bearer of any treacherous communica- 
tion. Still, he did not appear to sympathize much 
with us, for he expressed his disapproval of our de- 
fensive preparations ; referring particularly to some 
loop-holes near the guard-house, w^hich he said would 
have a tendency to irritate the people. I thought 
the remark a strange one, under the circumstances, 
as " the people " were preparing to attack us. I had 
no doubt, at the time, in spite of the warlike message 
he had brought, that Buell's expressions reflected the 
wishes of his superiors. I have ascertained recently 
that Floyd did have one or more confidential agents 
in Charleston, who were secretly intermeddling in 
this matter, without the sanction of the President or 
the open authority of the War Office. It appears 
from the records that another assistant adjutant- 
general. Captain Withers, who joined the rebels at 
the outbreak of the rebellion, and became a rebel 
general, was also sent by Floyd to confer with An- 



52 REMINISCENCES OF 

derson. It is not at all improbable, therefore, that 
some one of the messengers who actually joined the 
enemy may have been the bearer of a treasonable 
commnnication. It appears from Anderson's own 
statement that his hands were tied, and no one that 
knew him would ever doubt his veracity. Yet, if he 
really desired to retain possession of Charleston har- 
bor for the Government, and Floyd's orders stood in 
his way, why did he not, after the latter fled to the 
South, make a plain statement to the new secretary, 
Judge Holt, whose patriotism was undoubted, and 
ask for fresh instructions ? It looks to me very much 
as if he accepted the orders without question because 
he preferred the policy of non-resistance, 

I shall have occasion to refer to this subject again 
in the course of my narrative. 

We had frequently regretted the absence of a gar- 
rison in Castle Pinckney, as that post, being within a 
mile of Charleston, could easily control the city by 
means of its mortars and heavy guns. We were too 
short-handed ourselves to spare a single soldier. The 
brave ordnance-sergeant, Skillen, M'ho was in charge 
there, begged hard that we would send him a few 
artillerists. He could not bear the thought of sur- 
renderino; the work to the enemies of the Govern- 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 53 

ment without a struggle, and would have made a de- 
termined resistance if he could have found any one 
to stand by him. We talked the matter over, and 
Captain Foster thought he could re-enforce Skillen 
by selecting a few reliable men from his masons to 
assist in defending the place. He accordingly sent 
a body of picked workmen there, under his assistant. 
Lieutenant R. K. Meade, with orders to make certain 
repairs. The moment, however, Meade attempted to 
teach these men the drill at the heavy guns, they 
drew back in great alarm, and it was soon seen that 
no dependence could be placed upon them. So Cas- 
tle Pinckney was left to its fate. 

As the General Government seemed quietly to have 
deserted us, we watched the public sentiment at the 
North with much interest. There was but little to 
encourage us there. The Northern cities, however, 
were beginning to appreciate the gravity of the cri- 
sis. At the call of the Mayor of Philadelphia, a great 
public meeting was held in Independence Square. 
For one, I was thoroughly dispirited and disgusted 
at the resolutions that were passed. They were evi- 
dently prompted by the almighty dollar, and the fear 
of losing the Southern trade. They urged that the 
North should be more than ever subservient to the 



54 REMINISCENCES OF 

South, more active in catcliing fugitive slaves, and 
more careful not to speak against the institution of 
slavery. As a pendant to these resolutions, an offi- 
cial attempt was made, a few days afterward, to pre- 
vent the eloquent Republican orator, George W.Cur- 
tis, from advocating the Northern side of the ques- 
tion. 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 55 



CHAPTEE lY. 

THE REMOVAL TO FOET SUMTER. 

Passage of the Secession Ordinance. — Governor Pickens's Procla- 
mation. — Judge Petigru's Visit to Fort Moultrie. — Floyd's Treach- 
ery. — Yancey's Lectures in the North. — The Kemoval to Fort 
Sumter. 

On the 17th a bill was passed to arm the militia 
of Xorth Carolina. 

On the same day the Charleston Convention met, 
and chose General D. F, Jamison as their president, 
and on the 20th of the month the secession ordinance 
was duly passed, and South Carolina voted out of the 
Union amidst screams of enthusiasm. Immediately 
afterward there was great competition for the posses- 
sion of the immortal pen with which the instrument 
was signed. At the close of the war, I heard it was 
for sale at a very low figure. 

The new Governoi-, Francis W". Pickens, signed the 
ordinance very gladly, and issued his proclamation 
on the 24th declaring South Carolina to be a free 
and independent nation. He had served as a mem- 



56 REMINISCENCES OF 

ber of Congress from 1835 to 1843, and as Minister 
to Russia in 1858, but he was not considered a man 
of decided ability. He was very impetuous in Lis 
disposition, and, according to a statement made by 
him in one of his Congressional speeches, which at- 
tracted much attention at the time, he was " born in- 
sensible to fear." 

Soon after the State seceded, that stern old patriot. 
Judge J. L. Petigru, of South Carolina, came over, 
with one of his friends, to pay us a final visit, to ex- 
press the deep sorrow and sympathy he felt for us in 
our trying position. As he knew that arrangements 
were being made to drive us out, he bade us fare- 
well with much feeling. The tears rolled down his 
cheeks as he deplored the folly and the madness of 
the times. He had been previously asked in the city 
if he did not intend to join the secession movement. 
He replied, "/ should think not ! South Carolina is 
too small for a republic, and too large for a lunatic- 
asylumr At a later period of the war, it is said he 
was called upon to give np the property of his North- 
ern clients for confiscation, nnder a law which made 
it treason to refuse. He positively declined to com- 
ply with the demand, and said, with much spirit, 
" Whenever the time comes for tne to choose between 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 57 

death and dishonor, I shall have no difficulty in say- 
ing which of the two I shall elect.'''' It is miicli to be 
regretted that lie did not live to witness the final tri- 
umph of the cause which was so dear to him. 

Four of Buchanan's Cabinet — Floyd, Cobb, Tou- 
cey, and Thompson — were now open and avowed Dis- 
unionists. On the 23d, a defalcation of eight hundred 
and thirty-three thousand dollars was discovered in 
the Department of the Interior, while the Secretary, 
Jacob Thompson, was absent from his post, and act- 
ing as.a disunion agent, to represent the State of Mis- 
sissippi. This dallying with treason in the Cabinet 
was one of the most discouraging signs of the times.' 

A circumstance now occurred which to my mind 
was proof positive that Floyd intended to betray us 
and the Government he represented. I have no 
doubt it hastened our departure from Fort Moultrie. 
He directed Captain Foster to have the guns mount- 
ed in Fort Sumter immediately. It M^as plain enough, 
from demonstrations already made, that the moment 
this was done the rebels would seize the fort, and turn 
its powerful armament upon us. There was no one 
there to resist them. It seems to me that Floyd's 
speech to the Secessionists of Richmond, made short- 
ly after his flight from Washington, was a pretty 
3* 



58 REMIXISCENCES OF 

plain acknowledgment that lie had violated his oath 
of office as Secretary of AVar, in order that he might 
advance the interests of the Confederacy. He said 
on that occasion, " I undertook so to dispose of the 
power in my hands that when the terrific hour came, 
you, and all of yon, and each of you, should say, ' This 
man has done his duty.'" 

^ Anderson had been ni'ged by several of us to re- 
move his command to Fort Sumter, but he had inva- 
riably replied that he was specially assigned to Fort 
Moultrie, and had no right to vacate it without or- 
ders. Our affairs, however, were becoming critical, 
and I thought it my duty to speak to him again on 
the subject. He still apparently adhered to his de- 
cision. Nevertheless, he had fully determined to 
make the change, and was now merely awaiting a fa- 
vorable opportunity. To deceive the enemy, he still 
kept at work with unabated zeal on the defenses of 
Fort Moultrie. This exactly suited the purposes of 
the rebel leaders, for they knew we could make no 
effectual defense there, and our preparations would 
only increase the prestige of their victory. We were 
not authorized to commence hostilities by burning 
the adjacent houses, and yet, if they were not leveled, 
clouds of riflemen could occupy them, and prevent 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 59 

oiir men from serving the guns. Under any circum- 
stances, it was plain that we must soon succumb from 
over-exertion and loss of sleep incident to repelling 
incessant attacks from a host of enemies. The fact 
that through the provident care of the Secretary of 
War the guns of J^'orf Sumter would also be turned 
upon us, enfilading two sides of Fort Moultrie, and 
taking a'nother side in reverse, was quite decisive 
as to the impossibility of our making a lengthened 
defense. 

Up to this time we had hoped, almost against hope, 
that, even if the Government were base enough to de- 
sert us, the loyal spirit of the patriotic North would 
manifest itself in our favor, inasmuch as our little 
force represented the supremacy of the Constitution 
and the laws ; but all seemed doubt, apathy, and con- 
fusion there. Yancey was delivering lectures in the 
Northern States, as a representative of the Disunion- 
ists, not only without molestation, but with frequent 
and vociferous applause from the Democratic masses, 
who could not be made to believe there was any real 
danger. 

In making his arrangements to cross over, Ander- 
son acted with consummate prudence and ability. He 
only communicated his design to the staff -officers, 



6o KE.MIAVSCE.VCES OF 

whose co-operation was indispensable, and he waited 
until the moment of execution before he informed 
the others of his intention. ]S"o one, of course, would 
deliberately betray a secret of this kind, but it some- 
times happens, under such circumstances, that officers 
give indications of what is about to take place by 
sending for their washing, packing their trunks, and 
making changes in their messing arrangements. 

Without knowing positively that any movement 
had been projected, two circumstances excited my 
suspicions. Once, while I was walking with the 
major on the parapet, he turned to me abruptly, and 
asked me what would be the best course to take to 
render the gun-carriages unserviceable. I told him 
there were several methods, but my plan would be 
to lieap pitch-pine knots around them, and burn them 
up. The question was too suggestive to escape my 
attention. 

On the day previous to our departure, I requested 
him to allow me to purchase a large quantity of wire, 
to make an entanglement in front of the part of the 
work 1 was assigned to defend. He said, with a quiz- 
zical look, " Certainly ; you shall have a mile of wire, 
if you require it." "When I proposed to send for it 
immediately, he smiled, and objected in such a pecul- 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 6 1 

iar way that I at once saw that he was no longer in- 
terested in our efforts to strengthen Fort Moultrie, 

As a preliminary to the proposed movement, he 
directed the post quartermaster, Lieutenant Hall, 
to charter three schooners and some barges, for the 
ostensible purpose of transporting the soldiers' fami- 
lies to old Fort Johnson, on the opposite side of the 
harbor, where there were some dilapidated public 
buildings belonging to the United States. The dan- 
ger of the approaching conflict was a good pretext 
for the removal of the non-combatants. All this 
seemed natural enough to the enemy, and no one of- 
fered any opposition. In reality, these vessels were 
loaded with supplies for all the troops, with reference 
to a prolonged residence in Fort Sumter. Hall was 
directed to land every thing there as soon as a signal- 
gun was fired. In the mean time he sailed for Fort 
Johnson, and lay off and on, waiting for the signal. 

Anderson had broken up his own mess, and on the 
last evening of our stay (December 26th) I left my 
room to ask him in to take tea with us. The sun 
was just setting as I ascended the steps leading to 
the parapet and approached him. He was in the 
midst of a group of officers, each of wliom seemed 
silent and distrait. As I passed our assistant - sur- 



62 REMINISCENCES OF 

geon, I remarked, " It is a fine evening, Crawford." 
He replied in a hesitating and embarrassed manner, 
showing that his thoughts were elsewhere. I saw 
plainly that something unusual had occurred. An- 
derson approached me as I advanced, and said quiet- 
ly, "I have determined to evacuate this post immedi- 
ately, for the purpose of occupying Fort Sumter; I 
can only allow you twenty minutes to form your 
company and be in readiness to start." I was sur- 
prised at this announcement, and realized the gravity 
of the situation at a glance. We were w^atched by 
spies and vigilanpe-committees, who would undoubt- 
edly open fire upon us as soon as they saw the ob- 
ject of the movement. I was naturally concerned, 
too, for the safety of my wife, who was the only lady 
in the fort at tliat time, and who would necessarily 
be exposed to considerable danger. Fortunately, I 
had little or no property to lose, as, in anticipation 
of a crisis, I had previously sent every thing of value 
to New York. Some of the other officers did not 
fare so well. The doctor, not expecting so sudden 
a denouement^ had necessarily left his medical stores 
unpacked. Foster, who had taken a house outside 
for his family, w^as wholly unprepared, and lost 
heavily. 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. (>l 

I made good use of the twenty minutes allowed 
me. I first went to the barracks, formed my com- 
pany, 'inspected it, and saw that each man was prop- 
erly armed and eqnipped. This left me ten min- 
utes to spare. I dashed over to my quarters; told 
my wife to get ready to leave immediately, and as 
the fighting would probably commence in a few min- 
utes, I advised her to take refuge with some fam- 
ily outside, and get behind the sand-hills as soon as 
possible, to avoid the shot. She hastily threw her 
wearing - apparel into her trunks, and I called two 
men to put her baggage outside the main gate. I 
then accompanied her there, and we took a sad and 
hasty leave of each other, for neither knew when or 
where we would meet again. As soon as this was 
accomplished, I strapped on my revolver, tied a 
blanket across my shoulders, and reported to Major 
Anderson that my men were in readiness to move. 

In the mean time Lieutenant Jefferson C. Davis, 
of my company, who had been detailed to command 
the rear guard, aimed the guns, M'hich were already 
loaded, to bear upon the passage to Fort Sumter, and 
Captain Foster and Assistant-surgeon Crawford, with 
two sergeants and three privates, remained with him, 
and took post at five columbiads, in readiness to car- 



64 REMIXISCEXCES OF 

ly out Major Anderson's design, which was to sink 
the ^'uard-boats, should they attempt to fire into us 
or run us down while en route. Certainly the major 
showed no lack of determination or energy on this 
occasion. 

If we were successful in crossing, Davis was to 
follow with the remainder of the men. Foster and 
Mr. Moale agreed to remain behind until morning. 
They also volunteered to place themselves at the 
guns, and cover the retreat of the rear guard under 
Davis, in case an attempt was made to intercept them. 

The chaplain, the Eev. Mattliias Harris, being a 
non-combatant, and having his family in the viUage, 
was not notified. Neither was Surgeon Simons, of 
the army, who was liviug in a house adjoining the 
fort, and directly in line with our gnns. When he 
saw the movement in progress, he hastened out with 
liis family, to shelter them behind the sand-hills as 
soon as possible. 

Every thing being in readiness, we passed out of 
the main gates, and silently made our way for about 
a quarter of a mile to a spot where the boats were 
hidden behind an irregular pile of rocks, which orig- 
inally formed part of the sea-wall. There was not a 
single human beinor in sio^ht as we marched to the 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 65 

rendezvous, and we had the extraordinary good luck 
to be wholly unobser\'ed. We found several boats 
awaiting us, under charge of two engineer officers. 
Lieutenants Snyder and Meade. They and their 
crews were crouched down behind the rocks, to es- 
cape observation. In a low tone they pointed out to 
me the boats intended for my company, and then 
pushed out rapidly to return to the fort. Noticing 
that one of the guard-boats was approaching, they 
made a wide circuit to avoid it. I hoped there would 
be time for my party to cross before the steamer could 
overhaul us ; but as among my men there were a num- 
ber of imskillf ul oarsmen, we made but slow progress, 
and it soon became evident that we would be over- 
taken in mid-channel. It was after sunset, and the 
twilight had deepened, so that there was a fair chance 
for us to escape. While the steamer was yet afar off, 
I took off my cap, and tln-ew open my coat to con- 
ceal the buttons. I also made the men take off their 
coats, and use them to cover up their muskets, wiiich 
were lying alongside the rowlocks. I hoped in this 
way that we might pass for a party of laborers re- 
turning to the fort. The paddle-wheels stopped with- 
in about a hundred yards of us ; but, to our great re- 
lief, after a slight scrutiny, the steamer kept on its 



66 REMINISCENCES OF 

way. Ill the mean time our men redoubled their ef- 
forts, and we soon arrived at our destination. As we 
ascended the steps of the wharf, crowds of workmen 
rushed out to meet us, most of them wearing seces- 
sion emblems. One or two Union men among them 
cheered lustily, but the majority called out angrily, 
" What are these soldiers doing here ?" I at once 
formed my men, charged bayonets, drove the tumult- 
uous mass inside the fort, and seized the guard-room, 
which commanded the main entrance. I then placed 
sentinels to prevent the crowd from encroaching on 
us. As soon as we had disembarked, the boats were 
sent back for Seymour's company. The major landed 
soon after in one of the engineer boats, which had 
coasted along to avoid the steamer. Seymour's men 
arrived in safety, followed soon after by the remain- 
ing detachments, which had been left behind as a 
rear-guard. The latter, however, ran a good deal of 
risk, for in the dark it passed almost under the bow 
of the guard-boat Nina. The whole movement was 
successful beyond our most sanguine expectations, 
and we were highly elated. The signal-gun was fired, 
and Hall at once sailed over, and landed the soldiers' 
families and supplies. As soon as the schooners were 
unloaded, the disloyal workmen were placed on board 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 67 

and shipped off to the main-land. Only a few of the 
best and most reliable were retained. 

Upon leaving me, my wife took refuge temporari- 
ly in the residence of Dan Sinclair, the sutler of the 
post, a most excellent man, and one to whom we were 
indebted for many kindnesses. Finding that the peo- 
ple of Moultrieville were not yet aware of the change 
that had taken place, and that every thing was tran- 
quil, she ventured back to the fort, and finished the 
removal of all our effects. After this, in company 
with the chaplain's family, she walked up and down 
the beach "the greater part of the night, looking anx- 
iously toward Fort Sumter to see if there were any 
indications of trouble or disturbance there. In the 
morning she took up her residence at the chaplain's 
house. As for the other ladies, both Mrs. Simons and 
Mrs. Foster fled to the city at the first intimation of 
danger, and Mrs. Seymour was already there. 



68 REMINISCENCES OF 



CHAPTER Y. 

THE rmST OYEKT ACT. 

Tlie New Quarters. — Seizure of Castle Pinckney by Charleston 
Troops. — Kaisiug the Flag at Tort Sumter. — The Sergeant's 
Daughter. — Miijor Anderson's Position. — The Charleston Troops 
take Fort Moultrie. — A Military Problem. — Condition of Fort 
Sumter. — Governor Pickens's Commission. — A New Outrage. 

On the very day that these events occurred, the 
South Carolina commissioners, E-. W. Barnwell, J. H. 
Adams, and James L. Orr, arrived in Washington to 
treat for the surrender of the forts and other public 
property. It proved to be a very inauspicious time 
for such a negotiation. 

Our garrison were up betimes on the morning of 
the 27th, to inspect their new quarters. The soldiers 
thronged the parapet in such numbers as to attract 
the attention of the troops on board the Nina. That 
vessel steanied up to the city in great haste, and com- 
municated the startling intelligence that Fort Sum- 
ter, in some inexplicable manner, had been fully re- 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 69 

enforced,* The chagrin of the authorities was in- 
tense. Messengers were at once dispatched to all 
parts of the city, to ring the door-bells and arouse 
the people. 

While this was going on in town, Anderson, who 
was very punctilious in regard to settling all debts 
due by the United States to citizens, determined to 
send a detachment, under Lieutenant Davis, back to 
Fort Moultrie as a guard to Captain Foster, to en- 
able him to pay off the claims of the workmen he 
had left behind. Doctor Crawford went over also, 
to look after some of his medical property. As the 
guard-boats had been withdrawn, \X\qj reached the 
fort without difficulty, and found it deserted. The 
people of the little village, to all appearance, were 
still ignorant of onr change of station. Soon after 
their arrival, the party, in accordance with instruc- 
tions from Major Anderson, set fire to the gun-car- 
riages bearing on Fort Sumter, and destroyed all the 
ammunition and military material that could not be 
brought away. The guns had been spiked the night 
before, and the flag-staff was cut down, either at that 
time or in the morning. 

* Dawson's Historical Magazine. 



70 REMIiVISCEXCES OF 

As I have stated, the major took great pains to 
see that all bills, even those of a private nature, due 
in Charleston were fully paid by the officers and men 
of his command ; but many leading merchants in the 
city were not so scrupulous. They gladly took ad- 
vantage of the war to repudiate the claims of their 
Northern creditors. I was also informed by one of 
the pay-masters that a number of officers of the army 
who resigned to join the rebellion first deliberately 
drew their month's pay in advance, and then left the 
pay-master, as a penalty for his kindness, to make 
good the deficiency from his private funds, in order 
to settle his accounts. 

Foster and Davis, finding Fort Moultrie still de- 
serted, made good use of the occasion by loading 
up with supplies and ammunition one of the schoon- 
ers which had been previously chartered to carry 
over the women and children, and which were now 
lying empty at the wharf. 

On their way back from this expedition our offi- 
cers saw the Charleston troops going over to take 
possession of Castle Pinckney. The calm and digni- 
fied South Carolina Legislature had not authorized 
this outrageous proceeding. Even if we assume 
that the State had the rio;ht to secede, it does not 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 71 

follow that the public property within her limits 
properly belonged to her. It appertained to the na- 
tion at large, inasmuch as all the other States had 
contributed toward it, and therefore it was a proper 
subject of negotiation. To seize it at once, without 
a declaration of war, and while the subject was still 
pending, was a violation of all right and precedent. 
The hot-headed governor, however, irritated at our 
change of station, took the responsibility of com- 
mencing hostilities against the Union, without the 
co-operation of the Legislature, and this, too, at a 
time when the State was almost destitute of war ma- 
terial and funds. I doubt if there were more than 
half a dozen heavy guns on hand, and there were 
certainly not a dozen rounds of cannon-powder for 
each. 

Major Anderson, who was a very religious man, 
thought it best to give some solemnity to our occu- 
pation of Fort Sumter by formally raising the flag, 
at noon, with prayer and military ceremonies. The 
band played " The Star-spangled Banner," the troops 
presented arms, and our chaplain, the Eev. Matthias 
Harris, offered np a fervent supplication, invoking 
the blessing of Heaven npon our small command 
and the cause we represented. Three cheers were 



72 REMINISCENCES OF 

then given for the flag, and the troops were dis- 
missed. 

The seizure of Castle Pinckney, on the afternoon 
of the 27th, was the first overt act of the Secession- 
ists against the sovereignty of the United States, As 
already stated, it was ordered by Governor Pickens, 
on his own responsibility, without the concurrence 
of the Legislature."^' The latter, indeed, positively 
declined to sanction the measure. At 2 p.m. the 
"Washington Light Infantr}^ and Meagher Guards, 
both companies of Colonel J. J. Petigru's I'ifle reg- 
iment, embarked, under command of that officer, on 
board the Nina, and steamed down to the little isl- 
and upon which the Castle is situated. When they 
arrived in front of the main gates they found them 
closed ; whereupon they applied scaling-ladders, and 
with eager, flushed faces made their way to the top 
of the wall. The excitement was needless, for there 
was no one there to resist them, the only fighting- 
men present being Lieutenant R. K. Meade, of the 
engineers, and Ordnance - sergeant Skillen, who re- 
sided there with his family, and who was in charge 



* See Dawson's story of Fort Sumter, in the Historical Magazine 
for January, 1872. 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 73 

of the work. Meade, himself a Yirginiau, had a 
sharp colloquy with Petigrn, and expressed liiinself 
in severe terms in relation to this treasonable assault. 

After taking possession, one of the rebel officers 
found the sergeant's daughter, pretty Kate Skillen, 
aged fifteen, weeping bitterly at the foot of the ram- 
parts. He assured her no harm should befall her. 
Slie replied, " I am not crying because I am afraid !" 
" What is the matter, then ?" said he. " I am crying 
because you have put that miserable rag up there," 
slie said, pointing to the Palmetto flag which had 
just been raised to the top of the staff. 

Foster's few reliable workmen proved to be a bad 
investment. It is said that most of tliem, wlien they 
found the enemy were actually coming, hid in clos- 
ets, sheds, and under the beds, and some cried bit- 
terly. 

While tliis was going on, Major Anderson and my- 
self stood side by side on the parapet, watching the 
scene through our spy-glasses. From his expressions 
of indignation,! was in hopes he M'ould take prompt 
measures to close the harbor against any further en- 
croachments of the State troops, made with a view to 
occupy Fort Moultrie or Fort Johnson. It would 
have required but a short time to mount a few 
4 



74 REMINISCENCES OF 

pieces; and when these were once in position, it 
wonld have been easy to cut off all direct communi- 
cation by water between the different posts. In 
short, he could take entire possession of the harbor. 
He did threaten to put out the lights in the light- 
houses with his artillery, and close the port in that 
way ; but his anger soon passed away, and he took 
no aggressive measures of any kind. 

In njy opinion, if he could have been satisfied that 
no other States would join South Carolina in her mad 
attempt, he would have done every thing that lay in 
his power to punish her; for he looked upon her as 
a spoiled child that needed correction. Having mar- 
ried a lady from Georgia, he had almost identified 
himself with that State. He did own a plantation 
a]id negroes there, but had recently sold them. The 
purchaser afterward refused to pay for them, on the 
ground that Anderson had destroyed their value by 
virtually warring against slavery. At this period the 
feeling in many parts of the South was strong against 
South Carolina. This was particularly the case among 
the young men of Georgia, who looked upon the lead- 
ers of secession in the Palmetto State as very presum- 
ing, because these leaders thought and acted as if they 
were the only representatives of Southern sentiment. 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 75 

and as if the leadership belonged to them as a matter 
of right. They seemed to consider that the mere fact 
of being born in South Carolina (or Carolina, as they 
called it, contemptuously ignoring North Carolina) con- 
stituted in itself a patent of nobility; and their im- 
plied scorn of other States caused the antagonistic 
feeling which I have mentioned. This was shared 
by Anderson, until he found that Georgia also would 
certainly secede. lie then seemed to lose all inter- 
est in the Union, and merely desired to become a 
spectator of the contest, and not an actor. His ef- 
forts thenceforth were simply confined to making his 
fort secure against an assault. Hardly any amount 
of provocation could induce him to become the as- 
sailant. 

On the day we left Fort Moultrie, Captain Hum- 
phreys, of the engineers, arrived there from Wasliing- 
ton, with orders for Captain Foster from the Secre- 
tary of War. I have never learned tlie purport of 
these dispatches. 

On the 27th, the day after we evacuated the place, 
Lieutenant-colonel Wihnot G. De Saussure arrived at 
Fort Moultrie, at 9 p.m., with his Imttalion of Charles- 
ton artillery and tliirty riflemen ; in all, one hundred 
and se\-enty men. (The companies composing the 



76 REMINISCENCES OF 

battalion were the Marion Artillery, the La Fayette 
Artillery, the German Artillery, and the Washington 
Artillery.) I was informed by a spectator that the 
new-comers were exceedingly cautious in making an 
entrance. They were looking out for mines in all 
directions, and had brought ladders with them, on 
the supposition that there might be torpedoes in front 
of the main gates. It was a clear, beautiful evening, 
and the moon was at the full. They were greatly 
enraged to find the flag-staff cut down, for they had 
hoped to run up their own flag on the very spot where 
ours had formerly waved. They found, too, the gun- 
carriages burned, and the guns, which had gradually 
settled down as the carriages gave way, resting with 
their breeches on the platforms, and the muzzles lean- 
ing against the walls. Out of the mouth of each hung 
a small white string. As many of the guns had been 
kept loaded for a considerable length of time, these 
strings had been tied by me to the cartridges, in or- 
der that the latter might be pulled out and sunned 
occasionally, as a precaution against dampness. De 
Saussure's men imagined that these strings were ar- 
ranged with a view to blow up the guns the moment 
any one attempted to interfere with them, and each 
soldier, as he passed, avoided the supposed danger. 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 77 

The South Carolina officers, at tliis period, spent 
much of their time in discussing military problems. 
One of these, which was afterward referred to us 
for solution, occasioned us much amusement. All 
cannon-balls used in the army, and exposed to the 
weather, are coated with a varnish of coal-tar, to 
protect them from rust. Many of those we left 
behind were in piles near the guns, and when the 
carriages were burned, the tar melted, ran down in 
streams, and coagulated in lumps. It was immedi- 
ately reported that before leaving we had taken 
great pains to tar the balls, to render them useless. 
The problem which puzzled the military savans of 
Charleston was, to determine in what way cannon- 
balls were ruined by tar. Some months afterward, 
when we evacuated Fort Sumter, one of the officers 
who had been much interested in this subject took 
Seymour aside, and asked him confidentially if he 
had any objection to tell him why we tarred our 
balls, assuring him most earnestly that they could 
scrape it all off. 

Upon occupying Fort Sumter, we found it was in 
a very unfinished condition, and that it would re- 
quire an immense amount of labor to render it safe 
against an assault. It had no flanking defenses 



78 REMTiYISCENCES OF 

whatever. Three or four hundred men, with short 
ladders, could easily have taken it ; for no guns were 
mounted, except a few on the gorge, and all the em- 
brasures were open, there being no efficient means of 
closing them. On the gorge side, where the wharf 
was located, there were two sally-ports and numer- 
ous windows to be guarded. In the second story 
the embrasures were nothing but large unfinished 
openings, slightly boarded up. Three or four blows 
of an axe would have made a broad entrance for an 
escalading party. The form of the fort was a pen- 
tagon. Eetaining a small force as a reserve in the 
centre of the work, we could only furnish eight men 
to defend each side and guard all the numerous 
openings. 

Fortunately no assault was made. It was thought 
the fort was almost impregnable, and that there 
M'ould be no difficulty in inducing Buchanan to or- 
der us back to Fort Moultrie. This occasioned a 
delay, and gave us time to strengthen our position. 
We were hard at work, mounting guns, preparing 
shells to be used as hand-grenades, stopping up sui-- 
plus embrasures, and removing the ddbris which en- 
cumbered the passages from one part of the work 
to another. Quarters were selected for the ofticers, 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 79 

soldiers, and cainp-woinen ; and the household furni- 
ture which belonged to each, and which had been 
thrown pell-mell on the parade-ground, was all sep- 
arated and deposited in the different rooms. I chose 
an apartment near the mess hall, and made it so com- 
fortable that Anderson and Seymour came there tem- 
porarily to live with me. Our mess was also organ- 
ized, and placed in charge of Mr. Edward Moale. 

In the afternoon, Governor Pickens sent Colonel 
J. J. Petigru and Major Elison Capers, both field- 
officers of the rifle regiment, in full uniform, to in- 
terview Major Anderson. Their looks were full of 
wrath, and they bowed stiffly and indignantly in an- 
swer to our smiling salutations. I was present at 
the conversation that ensued, but did not take notes. 
They told the major that perhaps he was not aware 
that an agreement had been entered into with Presi- 
dent Buchanan not to re-enforce the forts in the har- 
bor. They desired to call his attention to the fact 
that his recent movement M'as in direct violation of 
the contract referred to. They were, therefore, di- 
rected by the governor to request him, perempto- 
rily but courteously, to immediately return to Fort 
Moultrie. Anderson replied, in substance, that he 
knew nothing of any such agreement; that as com- 



So EEMIXISCEXCES OF 

mander of the defeuses of Charleston he had an in- 
herent right to occupy any fort in the harbor. lie 
stated that he, too, was a Southern man ; that he be- 
lieved the whole difficulty was brought on by the 
faithlessness of the Korth — here the aids made a 
stiff bow — but as regards returning to Fort Moultrie, 
he could not, and he would not, do it. The com- 
missionei*s were then courteoush' dismissed. 

I have always felt that this was a most insolent 
demand. If the governor considered himself ag- 
grieved by our change of station, his redress lay in 
an appeal to "Washington. This attempt to assume 
command of ns, and order us out of a United States 
fort, was an assumption of authority that merited a 
more spirited reply. 

Before his messengers left, I took occasion, in con- 
versation with a person who came over in the boat 
with them, to refer to the great strength of the work, 
and I also spoke of the shells which we had prepared 
to throw down on the heads of an attacking party. I 
knew the conversation would be repeated, and hoped 
it might have some effect in deterring an immediate 
assault. 

A new outrage now took place in full view of our 
garrison. The United States revenue cutter, M'hich 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 



lay anchored in the stream, was turned over by its 
commander, Captain N. L. Coste, to the authorities of 
South Carolina. The previous seizures, made with- 
out a declaration of war, had been justified on the 
ground that the forts and public buildings were fixt- 
ures within the limits of the State. To retain this 
vessel was sim])ly an act of piracy. 

When it became apparent that South Carolina did 
not control the Administration in Washington, and 
that Anderson would not be ordered back, it is pos- 
sible a boat attack might have been organized against 
us ; but a storm came up about this time, and the 
wind was so violent that no small boat could venture 
out with safety. This occasioned still further delay, 
which enabled us to do much toward placing the 
fort in a better condition for defense. 
4- 



82 REMINISCENCES OF 



CHAPTEE YI. 

EFFECT OF ANDEKSOn's MOVEMENT. 

President Buchanan Aroused. — Excitement in Charleston. — The Sit- 
uation at the Beginning of 1861. — Governor Pickens's War Meas- 
ures. — "My heart was never in this War." 

Anderson's movement and the sudden uprising of 
the North put an end to the mission of the South 
Carolina commissioners. Governor Pickens seized 
Castle Pinckney and Fort Moultrie on the 27th, and 
the custom-house and other United States proper- 
ty on the 28th. Before leaving, the commissioners 
made a formal call upon the President. The latter 
expected some apology or explanation in relation to 
the high-handed outrages wliich had been perpe- 
trated. Had they temporized, or even used concil- 
iatory language on this occasion, it is possible the 
South might still have preserved the ascendency it 
had always held in the councils of the President. 
Fortunately, they assumed an air of injured inno- 
cence, and required Mr. Buchanan to humble him- 
self before them for the past, and give guarantees 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 83 

for tlie future by immediately ordering Fort Sum- 
ter to be vacated ; that is, by surrendering to the 
State all public property in Charleston harbor which 
had not been already stolen. For once, the Presi- 
dent, whose personal integrity was called in ques- 
tion, was thoroughly roused, and made the only an- 
swer which suited the circumstances. He ordered a 
man-of-war to proceed to Charleston immediately, 
drive the State garrisons out of the forts, and take 
possession of the city. He might, indeed, have ar- 
i-ested the commissioners for high treason ; but his 
Unionism was of a very mild type, and far from be- 
ing aggressive. 

One of the commissioners, Mr. Adams, hastened 
to telegraph to the authorities of Charleston, on the 
28th, to prepare for war immediately, as there were 
no longer any hopes of a peaceful settlement. 

This dispatch caused a great uproar and excite- 
ment in Charleston. The banks at once suspended 
specie payments. All was terror and confusion, for 
it was expected that a fleet would bombard the city 
and land troops, and there were no adequate means 
of opposing its entrance. Castle Pinckney, indeed, 
might offer some resistance, but as it had been a de- 
pendency of Fort Sumter, and unoccupied, little, if 



84 REMINISCENCES OF 

iiiijj animuintion was kept there. The governor 
rushed frantically down to Fort Moultrie to hasten 
the preparations for defense. Non-combatants were 
urged to leave Moultrieville at once. The laborers 
formerly employed by Captain Foster were again 
hired by the State engineers, and were kept at work 
thereafter, night and day, in piling up sand-bags to 
shield the troops from the fire of Fort Sumter. The 
batteries at the north-eastern extremity of Sullivan's 
Island, which were made up of a few old field-pieces 
brought from the Citadel Academy in the city, were 
hastily put in order to protect the entrance by that 
channel. As for Fort Moultrie, before we left we 
had rendered its armament useless. At this time 
the guns were still spiked, and the workshops in the 
city were going night and day to replace the gun- 
carriages that had been burned. In place of these, 
60!ne of the guns and carriages were sent over from 
Castle Pinckney. 

No attempt had been made to fortify the Morris 
Island channel, and vessels could enter there with- 
out the slightest difficulty. It took several days to 
transfer the guns and make the preparations I have 
mentioned. It follows, therefore, that if the Admin- 
istration had acted promptly, Charleston could have 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 85 

been taken at once, and full reparation exacted for 
all the wrongs perpetrated against the United States. 
"Why this was not done will be explained hereafter. 

Foster had not been able to settle with all his 
workmen, and the rebels frequently sent tliem over 
under a flag of truce to demand their back pay and 
act as spies. I was euabled through this channel to 
keep up a correspondence with my wife, who was 
still in Moultrieville. I learned all that was going 
on there, and took occasion to inform her that we 
had no means of lighting up our quarters — a serious 
inconvenience in those long winter nights. She pur- 
chased a gross of matches and a box of candles, and 
had them put on board one of the boats referred to, 
in full view of a rebel sentinel, who was supervising 
the embarkation. She then requested one of the 
crew, an old soldier named M'Narhamy, who for- 
merly belonged to my company, to deliver them to 
me, which he agreed to do. The sentinel stared, but 
the self-possessed manner in which she acted made 
him think it must be all right, and he did not inter- 
fere. The box arrived safely, and added very much 
to our comfort and convenience. 

When the governor found that the spell of South- 
ern supremacy was broken, and that there was no 



86 REMINISCENCES OF 

probability that we would be ordered back to Fort 
Moultrie, he was in a very angry mood. He stopped 
our mail for a time, and cut off all commnnication 
with us. AVe were, of course, prevented from pur- 
chasing fresh provisions, and reduced to poi-k, beans, 
and hard -tack, Anderson was quite indignant at 
this proceeding, and again talked of shutting up the 
port by putting out the lights in the light-houses. 

While the leaders in the city complained bitterly 
to the public of Anderson for his perfidy in occupy- 
ing Fort Sumter, they did not liesitate, among them- 
selves, to express their admiration for his acuteness 
in evading the dangers and difficulties which sur- 
rounded him, and for the skillful manner in which 
he had accomplished it. 

Our life now proved to be one of great hardship. 
Captain Seymour and myself were the only officers 
for duty as officers of the day, Lieutenant Davis and 
Lieutenant Hall serving under us as officers of the 
guard. The situation required constant vigilance. 
Lieutenant Talbot, being a great sufferer from lung- 
disease, was unable to do this kind of duty. We 
were, therefore, very busy during the day superin- 
tending measures for defense, and were obliged to 
be on the alert, and wide awake every other night, 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 87 

SO that we were completely exhausted in a short 
time. Assistant - surgeon Crawford, having no sick 
in hospital, generously offered to do duty as officer 
of the day, and his offer was gladly accepted. The 
two young engineer officers, Snyder and Meade, were 
also willing to serve as line officers; but Captain Fos- 
ter thought it was contrary to precedent, and they 
were not detailed. 

As the Engineer department is regarded in this 
country as the highest branch of the military serv- 
ice, and as its officers are really very able men, I can 
not conceive what induced them to build Fort Sum- 
ter without any flanking defenses whatever, and with- 
out fire-proof quarters for the officers. The first de- 
fect I endeavored to remedy by projecting iron-23latecl, 
bullet-proof galleries over the angles of the parapet. 
I left small trap-doors in the bottom of these, for the 
purpose of throwing down shells on the heads of any 
party below attempting to force an entrance througli 
the embrasures. The other defect — the presence of 
so much combustible matter in the quarters — it was 
impossible to remedy, and it ultimately cost the loss 
of the fort. The excuse that it never could have 
been anticipated that the fort would be attacked from 
the land side is hardly a valid one, for a foreign fleet 



REMINISCENCES OF 



might possibly have effected a landing on Morris Isl- 
and ; or they might have set fire to the quarters 
from the decks of the vessels by means of incen- 
diary shells. 

As may well be supposed, there was a great deal 
of excitement in New York in relation to ns; and, 
in view of the small number of men available for 
service in the regular army, three of the principal 
citizens, James A. Hamilton, Moses II. Grinnell, and 
I. E. Williams, offered, at their own expense, about 
the last of December, to send us four hundred pick- 
ed artillerists from the citizen soldiery of the city; 
but General Scott refused to entertain the proposi- 
tion. 

On the 1st of January, 1861, we took an account 
of our resources, and found we had but one month's 
supply of fuel for cooking purposes, but few candles, 
and no soap. Tliere was, however, a small light-house 
inside the fort, and we found a little oil stored there. 

It seemed to me that the time had now come when 
forbearance ceased to be a virtue. Even our oppo- 
nents were willing to acknowledge that we repre- 
sented a legitimate government, and that both duty 
and propriety called upon us to resist the numerous 
war measures which tlie governor of South Carolina 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 89 

had inaugurated. He had taken forcible possession 
of two United States forts, of the money in the cns- 
tom-house, of tlie custom-house itself, and of other 
national property in Charleston. He had closed the 
harbor, by destroying the costly prismatic lenses in 
the light -houses, and by withdrawing the warning 
light-ship from Eattlesnake Shoal. He had cut off 
all communication between us and the city, and had 
seized the United States mails. His steamboats, 
laden with war material to be used in erecting bat- 
teries against us, were allowed to pass and repass 
Fort Sumter, not only without opposition, but with- 
out even a protest. Worse than all, he had com- 
menced imprisoning the crews of merchant vessels 
for contumacy in refusing to acknowledge his au- 
thority as the head of an independent nation. In 
vain did these vessels i'e\erse their flags in a mute 
appeal to us to use our guns in their defense. An- 
derson would do nothing — not even send a commu- 
nication to the governor on the subject, although the 
latter, without authority from the State Legislature, 
was thus wielding all the powers of a military dicta- 
tor. The enemy were gi-eatly emboldened at our 
weakness or timidity, and with good reason, for they 
saw us stand by with folded arms, and allow steam- 



90 REMINISCENCES OF 

boat loads of ammunition and war material to pass 
us, on their way to Morris Island, to be used in the 
erection and arming of batteries to prevent any 
United States vessels from coming to our assistance. 

Major Anderson was neither timid nor irresolute, 
and he was fully aware of his duties and responsi- 
bilities. Unfortunately, he desired not only to save 
the Union, but to save slavery with it. Without this, 
he considered the contest as hopeless. In this spirit 
he submitted to every thing, and delayed all action in 
the expectation that Congress would make some new 
and more binding compromise which would restore 
peace to the country. He could not read the signs of 
the times, and see that the conscience of the nation 
and the progress of civilization had already doomed 
slavery to destruction. If he had taken this view 
of the situation, he would have made more strenu- 
ous efforts to hold on to the harbor of Chaileston, 
and the one hundred and twenty millions of dollars, 
more or less, spent to i-egain it might still have 
formed part of the national treasm'y. 

The applanse w^hich, both in the North and South, 
greeted his masterly movement of the 26tli of De- 
cember, made him feel more like an arbiter between 
two contending nations than a simple soldier en- 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 91 

gaged in carrying out the instructions of his superi- 
ors. To show the spirit in which he acted, it is only 
necessary lo quote from his letter to Governor Pick- 
ens while the rebellion was still pending. He wrote: 
" My dear Governor, my heart was never in this war." 
This sentiment was repeated by him in letters to 
other parties, and, strange to say, was actually sent in 
the form of an official communication to the adju- 
tant-general of the army. 

The difficulties he experienced in his nnavailing 
attempts to defer hostilities seriously impaired his 
health and spirits, and ultimately brought on the dis- 
ease which kept him almost entirely out of service 
during the remainder of the war, and in all probabil- 
ity hastened his death. 

However much I differed from him in regard to 
his pro-slavery sentiments, I take pleasure in stating 
that, aside from his political career, the graces of his 
private life were such as to win the esteem and re- 
card of all who knew him. 



92 REMINISCENCES OF 



CHAPTER YIT. 

THE " STAR OF THE WEST." 

Promise of Succor. — Fatal Delay. — A Contumacious Chaplain. — 
Visit from our Ladies. — Governor Pickens's Cabinet. — Appearance 
of the Star of the West. — The Vessel fired upon from Morris 
Island and Port Moultrie. — Major Anderson's Protest. — Governor 
Pickens's Reijly. 

About the close of the year a great fear fell upon 
Charleston, for they had received positive informa- 
tion that a United States naval vessel was on its way 
to the city. The President had indeed acted prompt- 
ly. On the 31st of December, he ordered the BrooTc- 
/?//i, man-of-war, under Captain Farragut,to take three 
hundred veteran soldiers on board from Fortress Mon- 
roe, as a re-enforcement for us, and then proceed to 
Charleston harbor to drive out the State troops, and 
resume possession of the public ]3ropei'ty. General 
Scott, the cornmander- in -chief, assented to the ar- 
rangement at the time ; but, unfortunately, he was 
afterward seized with doubts as to whether the with- 
dj-awing of so many men from Fortress Monroe might 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 93 

not endanger its safety ; and that being a far more 
important work than Fort Sumter, he did not like to 
run any risk in relation to it. He therefore induced 
Mr. Buchanan to change the order, and substitute for 
the Brooklyn a merchant vessel, loaded with supplies 
and two hundred and fifty recruits.* This was a fa- 
tal error, for the steamer chosen, the Star of the West^ 
was, from its nature, wholly unfitted to contend with 
shore batteries. The general, wlio at tliis time was 
quite pacifically inclined, may have thought that if 
this vessel could slip in, and land its cargo unawares, 
he would have secured tlie harbor of Charleston with- 
out increasing the -".ar fever in the South. Be this 
as it may, there is v j doubt that his policy was too 
peaceful in the early days of the war. When a com- 
pany of the most c\stinguished men in Washington 
was formed, under Cassias M. Clay, to prevent the 
capture of the Presi':^::"*"^ and the destruction of the 
public buildings, he gave positive orders to Senator 
Kye, who was on diuy at the Navy -yard, not to fire 
upon the enemy in case they came there to take pos- 
session. 



* Tlie facts in this statement are tiiken from Dawson's Historical 
Mitgazinefor January, 1872. 



94 REMINISCENCES OF 

The original plan to succor us was excellent : the 
substitute was an utter failure. A change of this 
kind always occasions more or less delay, and in the 
present instance nearly a week elapsed before the 
vessel left New York. The enemy took immediate 
advantage of the time thus gained, to put up a work 
to control the main channel which passes by Morris 
Island, and which had previously been wholly unob- 
structed. They received the telegraphic notice on 
the 31st of December that a man-of-war would be 
sent, and the very next day the cadets of the Citadel 
Academy were hard at work at the new battery. It 
was located so that it would command the channel, 
and at the same time be beyond the reach of our 
guns. The day was cold and rainy, and tlie wind 
blew fiercely. We wondered how long those boys 
would keep up their enthusiasm amidst the hardships 
and trials of the real war which was now fast ap- 
proaching. 

Our chaplain, who had been present at the raising 
of the flag, and had then returned to his family in 
Moultrieville, desired to make us another visit. For 
this purpose, he called upon the rebel commander at 
Fort Moultrie, and asked if there would be any ob- 
stacle thrown in the way of his crossing over to see 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 95 

US. The answer was, " Oh 110, parson ; I think I will 
give you a pass." The chaplain replied, " I did not 
ask 3'ou for a pass, sir ! I am a United States ofh- 
cer, and I shall visit a United States fort whenever 
I think proper, without asking your permission. I 
simply desire to know whether you intend to pre- 
vent my going by force." He was not allowed to 
cross; and as he soon gave new proofs of contuma- 
cy by persisting in praying for the President of the 
United States, when asked to hold services in the 
chapel, before the rebel soldiers, he was soon ban- 
ished, and his property confiscated. 

The ladies we had left behind naturally felt a 
strong desire to be with us once more. My wife did 
not wish to ask permission of the rebel authorities, 
and I saw little chance of her coming in any other 
way. ISTevertheless, to my surprise, she made her ap- 
pearance at the wharf at Fort Sumter on the after- 
noon of the 3d of January. It seems she found a 
boat-load of laborers about to make the passage, for 
the purpose of obtaining their back pay from Cap- 
tain Foster. She took a seat in the stern of the boat, 
and told them to take her with them. The sentinel 
who was there to examine the passes did not inter- 
fere or ask her any questions, so she came over with- 



96 REMINISCENCES OF 

out difticnlty. Mrs. Foster and her sister, Mrs. Smith, 
were ah-eady with us, having obtained a permit from 
the governor. Mrs. Seymour had made an unsuc- 
cessful application to the commander of Fort Moul- 
trie, and had been somewhat rudely refused. Two 
clever little boys, sons of our generous-hearted sutler, 
Dan Sinclair, volunteered to row her across. After 
dark, they pulled a boat out from under a house up 
the beach ; and as there was no guard there, Mrs. 
Seymour came over without difficulty. 

The ladies were desirous of remaining an indef- 
mite length of time ; but we had no means of mak- 
ing them comfortable, and Major Anderson thought 
their presence would merely add to our embarrass- 
ment. In accordance with his wislies, they left that 
night and the next day. The cold was intense, and 
as all the wood was retained for cooking purposes, I 
was obliged to split up a mahogany table for fuel, to 
keep my wife from suffering during her brief visit. 
She and Mrs. Seymour w^ent back with the Sinclair 
boys at midnight. They succeeded in making a 
landing, and in reaching the chaplain's house with- 
out being observed. 

In the mean time, an amusing scene had occurred 
there. A very chivalrous gentleman, Ex -Governor 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 97 

Means, of South Carolina, had leartied in some way 
that Mrs. Seymour had been rudely refused permission 
to visit her husband in Fort Sumter, He thought 
this action of the commandant of Fort Moultrie 
harsh and unnecessary, and was kind enough to take 
the trouble to call at the chaplain's house to assure 
Mrs, Seymour tliat he would procure her a pass from 
higher authority. The chaplain hardly knew how to 
act. He did not like to tell the ex-governor that Mrs. 
Seymour had already gone, for fear it might get the 
Sinclair boys into trouble. He therefore pretended 
that Mrs. Seymour was confined to her room with a 
sick-headache. The ex-governor sent in repeated mes- 
sages to beg that she would see him, if it was only 
for a moment, but the answers made up by Mrs. 
Harris were invariably in the negative. The chap- 
lain afterward laughed heartily at the equivocal posi- 
tion he had been forced to assume, 

Now that we were alone once more, we went to 
work with a will. The Baltimore laborers were of 
inestimable value. They did an immense amount of 
labor in the way of mounting guns, and moving 
weighty materials from one part of the work to an- 
other ; but they showed no inclination to take part 
in the fighting, should any occur. 
5 



98 REMINISCENCES OF 

On the 3d, the South Carolina commissioners final- 
ly shook off the dust from tlieir feet, and left Wash- 
ington, having utterly failed to accomplish the object 
of their mission. 

On the same day, the governor, through Mr. Gour- 
din's* influence, permitted us to receive our mails 
once more. By this date we had mounted all the 
guns we were able to man on the lower tier, and had 
bricked up the surplus windows, sally-ports, and em- 
brasures, as we had no one to guard them. The ene- 
my, in the mean time, had erected a battery at Fort 
Johnson, and marked out anotlier directly opposite to 
us in Moultrieville. 

■ On the 6th, the mayor of New York, Fernando 
Wood, promulgated a message to the effect that the 
Union was breaking up, and recommending that the 
city of New York secede from the State. At this 
time the seeming indifference of the politicians to 
our fate made us feel like orphan children of the 
Republic, deserted by both the State and Federal 
administrations. 

On the same day, Governor Pickens graciously al- 



* One of the original leaders of secession, and a life-long friend 
and correspondent of Major Anderson. 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 99 

lowed Mrs. Anderson to visit her husband, but cou- 
pled the permission with the ungenerous stipulation 
that the interview must take place in presence of 
witnesses. He disliked very much to disoblige her, 
as she belonged to one of the most distinguished 
families of Georgia, and had many influential rela- 
tives among the Secessionists. Mr. Gourdin too, who 
was a warm personal friend of her husband, exerted 
himself in her behalf. While she herself displayed 
great patriotism, several of her brothers in the final 
attack on Fort Sumter were on the opposite side, 
fighting against her husband. Under the circum- 
stances, her visit to us was a brief one. She brought 
a valuable addition to the fort in the shape of Peter 
Hart, a gallant and trustworthy man, who had been 
Anderson's orderly sergeant in Mexico. She felt 
much easier in her mind, now that the major had 
Hart to look after him. He was only permitted to 
join us on condition that his duties were to be those 
of a civilian, and not of a soldier. 

On the 8th, the governor, who, like Louis XIV., 
might very readily have said, '"''Vetat, c^est 7noi P'' 
concluded to form a cabinet to assist him in his on- 
erous duties. He accordingly appointed JrG, Ma- 
grath Secretary of State ; D. F. Jamison, Secretary 



^/^. 



REMINISCENCES OF 



of War; C. G. Memminger, Secretary of the Treas- 
ury ; A. C. Garlington, Secretary of the Interior ; and 
W. H. Harlee, Postmaster-generah 

On the same day, our ladies, who had assembled 
at the Mills House, in Charleston, left for the North 
in a bod}^, on account of the state of public feeling 
in the city.* 

Their presence with us threw a momentary bright- 
ness over the scene, but after their departure every 
thing looked more gloomy and disheai-tening than 
before. The fort itself was a deep, dark, damp, 
gloomj'-looking place, inclosed in high walls, where 
the sunlight rarely penetrated. If we ascended to 
the parapet, we saw nothing but uncouth State flags, 
representing palmettos, pelicans, and other strange 
devices. No echo seemed to come back from the 
loyal North to encourage us. Our glasses in vain 
swept the horizon ; the one flag we longed to see was 
not there. It did come at last, in a timid, apologetic 

* My wife applied for board in Charleston, but was told she must 
first obtain the sanction of Mr. Rhett, the editor of the Mercury. She 
was afterward infonned by the boarding-house keeper that, as the 
house depended on the patronage of the Southern people for support, 
she (the landlady) could not undertake to harbor the wives of Federal 
officers. 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. loi 

way, and not as a representative of the war power of 
the Government. 

We had seen a statement in a Northern paper that 
a steamer named the Star of the West., which be- 
longed to Marshall O, Roberts, was to be sent to us, 
under command of Captain John M'Gowan, with a 
re-enforcement of several hundred men and supplies 
of food and ammunition ; but we could not credit the 
rumor. To publish all the details of an expedition 
of this kind, which ought to be kept a profound se- 
cret, was virtually telling South Carolina to prepare 
her guns to sink the vessel. It was hard to believe 
the Government would send to us a mercantile steam- 
er — a mere transport, utterly unfitted to contend witli 
shore batteries — when it could dispatch a man-of-wai- 
furnished with all the means and appliances to repel 
force by force. As the insurgents at this period had 
but few field-guns, and a very scanty supply of can- 
non-powder, the BrooJdyn alone, in my opinion, could 
have gone straight to the wharf in Charleston, and 
have put an end to the insurrection then and there ; 
for we all know what its distinguished captain, Far- 
ragut, was able to accomplish when left to his own 
resources. 

It seems, however, the news was literally true. 



REMINISCENCES OF 



The expedition was fitted out by Lieutenant Wash- 
ington A. Bartlett, an ex-ofiicer of our nav3^* 

Although I had little faith in the announcement, 
I scanned with increased interest every vessel that 
approached the harbor. 

Soon after daylight, on the morning of the 9th, I 
was on the parapet with my spy-glass ; for I fancied, 
from a signal I had observed the previous evening 
on a pilot-boat, that something must be coming. As 
I looked seaward, I saw a large steamer pass the bar 
and enter the Morris Island channel. It had the or- 
dinary United States flag up ; and as it evidently did 
not belong to the navy, I came to the conclusion it 
must be the Star of the West. I do not remember 
that any other officers were on the lookout at this 
time. Anderson himself was still in bed. AVhen 
the vessel came opposite the new battery, which had 
just been built by the cadets, I saw a shot fired to 
bring her to. Soon after this an immense United 
States garrison-flag was run up at the fore. With- 
out waiting to ascertain the result of the firing, I 

* The army officers on board were First Lieutenant Charles R. 
Woods, Ninth Infantry, commanding ; First Lieutenant WilHam A. 
Webb, Fifth Infantry ; Second Lieutenant Charles W. Thomas, First 
Infantry ; and Assistant-surgeon P. G. S. Ten Broeck. 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 103 

daslied down the back stairs to Anderson's room, to 
notify liim of the occurrence. He told me to have 
tlie long roll beaten, and to post the men at the guns 
on the parapet. I ran out, called the drummers, and 
had the alarm sounded. It took but a few minutes 
for men and officers to form at the guns in readiness 
for action. The battery was still tiring, but the trans- 
port had passed by, and was rapidly getting out of 
range. At the same time it was approaching within 
gun-shot of Fort Moultrie. The latter immediately 
opened fire from one or two guns. Anderson would 
not allow us to return this fire ; and the captain of 
the vessel, wholly discouraged by our failure to re- 
spond, turned about, and made his way back to New 
York. Two shots had struck the steamer, but no es- 
sential injury was done. I tliink the people in Fort 
Moultrie, who expected to be driven out to take ref- 
uge behind the sand-hills, were especially astonished 
at our inaction. It is very true that the Morris Isl- 
and battery was beyond the reach of our guns. Still, 
we did not know this positively at the time; and 
our firing in that direction, even if ineffectual, would 
have encouraged the steamer to keep on its course. 
We had one or two guns bearing on Fort Moultrie ; 
and as that was w'thia easy range, we could have 



I04 REMINISCENCES OF 

kept down the fire there long enough to enable the 
steamer to come in. It was plainly our duty to do 
all that we could. For any thing we knew to the 
contraiy, she might have been in a sinking condition. 
Had she gone down before our eyes, without an ef- 
fort on our part to aid her, Anderson would have in- 
curred a fearful responsibility by his inaction. 

Mr, Dawson, in his account of these incidents in 
the Historical Magazine, has it that a council of 
war was held by us to determine whether we would 
fire or not, and that we decided not to fire. He 
founds this upon verbal statements made by Foster 
and Davis. I know Foster was under this impres- 
sion ; but upon my recalling the circumstances to his 
recollection a short time before his death, he admit- 
ted his mistake. My memory is very clear and dis- 
tinct on this point, and I am sustained in regard to it 
by both Seymour and Crawford. Davis I have not 
seen for some time, but I have no doubt he will con- 
firm what I have said wlien his memory is refreshed. 

Indeed there was no time for deliberation while 
the troops were at the guns, for the vessel was mov- 
ing very rapidly, and the whole afi^air was over in a 
few minutes. The council was held after the steam- 
er had gone, to determine what action ought to be 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 105 

taken in consequence of the attack. It was too late 
tlien for resistance, and all we could do was to send 
Lieutenant Hall to the governor with a flag of truce, 
to demand an explanation. In this connnunication, 
Anderson expressly stated that if he did not receive 
a satisfactory reply, he would not, hereafter, allow 
any vessel from Charleston to pass within reach of 
his guns. As might be expected, the governor re- 
plied that he took the responsibility of the firing, and 
would do it again under like circumstances. Ander- 
son then reconvened the council to lay this answer 
before them. Through his influence it was con- 
cluded to send Lieutenant Talbot to Washington 
with a full statement of the occurrence, and await 
his return with specific instructions from the War 
Department. To carry out even this programme, 
the major was obliged to obtain the governor's 
permission for Lieutenant Talbot to pass through 
Charleston. It was urged by Anderson that the 
delay would enable us to finish our preparations 
for defense; but it was evident that time was far 
more valuable to the enemy than it was to us, for it 
enabled them to complete and arm their batteries, 
and close the harbor against our men-of-war, thus 
virtually impi'isoning us in our island home. 
5* 



Io6 REMINISCENCES OF - 

When Talbot left, we resumed our labors as usual. 
No attempt was made to carry out the threat of stop- 
ping all passing vessels. 

By the 14th of January our heavy gnns were up ; 
but by that time, too, the greater part of Fort Moul- 
trie and Castle Pinckney were shielded from our 
direct fire by huge piles of sand-bags.* 

We now began to get out of fuel, but we still had 
a resource in some wooden sheds inside the fort, 
which had been used as a temporary shelter for 
cement and building materials. Our position was 
greatly alleviated in one respect. Owing, it is said, 
to the influence of Mr. Gourdiu, already referred to 
as a leading Secessionist, and an old friend of Major 
Anderson, we were allowed to receive our mails once 
more. After the Star of the Wed affair, they prob- 
ably thought we were very harmless people, and de- 
served some reward for our forbearance. 

* Castle Pinckney at this time was commanded by Colonel J. John- 
ston Petigru ; Sullivan's Island, by Adjutant and Inspector-general 
Dunovant ; Fort Johnson, by Captain James Johnson, of the Charles- 
ton Rifles. The United States Arsenal, by Colonel John Cunningham, 
of the Seventeenth South Carolina militia ; its former commander. 
Captain Humphreys, the United States military store-keeper, having 
been ejected on the 30th of Decemher. 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 107 



CHAPTEE YIIL 

A EESORT TO DIPLOMACY. 

Major Anderson's Proposed Diplomatic Negotiations. — Defensive 
Preparations. — Changes in the Cabinet. — Meade's Defection. — 
Anecdote of Governor Pickens. — -Battery at Cuinmings Point. — 
Soldiers' Families removed. — A Tlireatening Letter. — Confederate 
Visitors to the Fort. — Organization of the Confederate Govern- 
ment. 

And now tlie Chai-leston statesmen concocted a 
plan to take away from us all hope of succor, so that 
we might be induced to surrender. To this end 
they determined to fill up the entrance of the harbor 
by depositing stone there. Whether they really in- 
tended to do this, or made a pretense of doing it, I 
never knew ; but they certainly did obtain some okl 
hulks from Savannah, and sunk them in the channel. 
Either these hulks were deposited in the wrong 
places, or else the tide drifted them into deep water, 
for it is certain they never formed any impediment 
to navigation afterward. Perhaps it was a mere 
coup de theatre, to intimidate us, and prevent re- 
enforcements from attempting to come in ; at all 



io8 REMINISCENCES OF 

events, it was a preliminary to a grand effort to ne- 
gotiate us out of Fort Sumter. For this purpose two 
representative men came over from the city on the 
11th, in the little steamer Antelope^ under a white 
flag. The party consisted of the late United States 
district judge, A. G. Magrath, now Secretary of State 
for South Carolina, and General D. F. Jamison, their 
new Secretary of War. The j udge, who was the cham- 
pion orator of the State, made a long and eloquent 
speech, the purport of which was that South Caro- 
lina was determined to have Fort Sumter at all haz- 
ards; that they would pull it down with their finger- 
nails, if they could not get it in any other way ; that 
the other Southern States were becoming excited on 
the subject ; that President Buchanan was in his do- 
tage ; that the government in Washington was break- 
ing up; that all was confusion, despair, and disorder 
there ; and that it was full time for us to look out 
for our own safety, for if we refused to give up the 
fort nothing could prevent the Southern troops from 
exterminating us. He ended this tragical statement 
by saying, " May God Almighty enable you to come 
to a just decision !" 

Anderson seemed deeply affected at the prospect 
of hostilities. PTe asked them why tliey did not first 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 109 

attempt diplomacy, instead of war. He said if they 
would send a commissioner to lay their claims before 
the authorities at Washington, he would send anoth- 
er to represent the condition of the fort; and the 
Government could then form its own judgment, and 
come to some decision. Judge Magrath replied that 
he would report the proposition to Governor Pickens 
for his action. He and his companion then took a 
solenm leave of us, and returned to Charleston. 

Upon reporting the facts to the governor, it was at 
once decided to accept Anderson's proposition. They 
gained an immense advantage in so doing ; for the 
agreement tied the hands of the United States for 
an indefinite period of time, and prevented the arriv- 
al of any war vessels until South Carolina was fully 
prepared to receive them. The delay gave the State 
time to complete and man its batteries, and to obtain 
an unlimited number of guns and quantities of shot 
and shell from the cannon foundry at Richmond, 
Virginia, known as the Tredegar Iron Works. Thus, 
while our supplies would be running out, theirs would 
be coming in. Every day's delay would weaken us 
and strengthen them. I was strongly opposed to this 
fatal measure, which ultimately cost us the loss of 
Fort Sumter; but as it had simply emanated from 



REMINISCENCES OF 



Anderson himself, by virtue of bis powei-s as com- 
manding officer, and bad not been submitted to a 
council of war, tbere was no opportunity for protest. 
He was at this time at tbe beiglit of iiis popularity, 
and every tiling be did was sure to be sustained at 
Washington. 

In tliis embassy, Colonel Isaac W. Ilayne, an emi- 
nent lawyer of Cbarleston, was cbosen as tbe com- 
missioner from Soutli Carobna, and Lieutenant Nor- 
man J. Hall was sent as a representative of Fort 
Sumter. 

After tbis event every tiling went on, for a wbile, 
as usual. 

By tbe 15tb of January we bad secured tbe main 
gates against an assault, by building a wall of stone 
and mortar behind them, leaving merely what is call- 
ed a man-bole, for tbe entrance of one person at a 
time. Even tbis was covered by a twenty -four- 
pounder howitzer, loaded with canister. 

By tbe 11th tbe money appropriated by tbe Soiitli 
Carolina Legislature for war purposes amounted to 
$1,450,000, and was soon after increased to $1,800,000. 
There was not a dollar in the treasury, and nothing 
but the bank of tlie State to draw upon. 

On tbe same day tbe financial condition of tlic 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. m 

United States was much improved by the ai3point- 
ment of John A. Dix as Secretary of the Treasury. 
This gave great confidence to the moneyed men of 
New York, who immediately rallied to the support 
of the Government. 

To all appearance, about six hundred negroes were 
now at work, night and day, in perfecting the defenses 
of Fort Moultrie. The enemy continued their hos- 
tile preparations with the utmost enei'gy and zeal, 
in spite of the tacit truce which was supposed to ex- 
ist, and which prevented the President from sending 
men-of-war to aid or to re-enforce us. I think An- 
derson might well have remonstrated against the 
landing of additional heavy guns and mortars on 
Sullivan's Island, and the erection of new batteries, 
to be used against us. He should at once have re- 
ported this increased activity to Washington, in or- 
der that the agreement might be terminated, or at 
least limited to a certain number of days. 

On the 17th, Judge Holt was nominated as Sec- 
retary of War, and was soon after confirmed by the 
Senate. We were very glad to have an energetic 
and patriotic man at the head of this department. 

On the 18th, liieutenant Meade left us for his 
home in Richmond, Virginia, in consequence of a 



REMINISCENCES OF 



dispatch which stated that his mother was at the 
point of death. I never knew whether this tele- 
gram was founded on fact, or was a strategic move 
to force poor Meade into the ranks of tlie Confeder- 
acy, by detaching him temporarily from us, and tak- 
ing him where tremendous political and social inilu- 
ences could be brought to bear upon him. He had 
previously been overwhelmed with letters on the sub- 
ject. He was already much troubled in mind; and 
some months after the bombardment of Fort Sumter 
the pressure of family ties induced him (very reluc- 
tantly, as I heard) to join the Disunionists. It was 
stated that he never was a happy man afterward, 
and that before a year had passed death put an end 
to his sorrow and regret. He was the sou of R K. 
Meade, our minister to Brazil. 

The troops opposite to us were now regularly re- 
ceiving supplies and re -enforcements, and drilling 
daily, while all the necessaries of life were constant- 
ly diminishing witli us. "We were already out of 
sugar, soap, and candles. 

On the 19th, Lieutenant Talbot returned from his 
visit to Washington, where, it will be remembered, he 
had been sent to explain the Star of the West affair, 
and ask for specific instructions, which would relieve 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 113 

Anderson from the responsibility, and throw it upon 
the Administration. The orders he brought back 
were to the effect that they had the utmost confi- 
dence in Major Anderson, and that they left every 
thing to his judgment. This was throwing the re- 
sponsibility all back upon him. It was very compli- 
mentary, but far from satisfactory, 

Talbot stated that he had great difiiculty in mak- 
ing a safe transit through Charleston ; for while the 
leaders seemed to be more pacific than ever, the pop- 
ulace had become more violent. It was even thought 
necessary to send an ofiicer with him to secure his 
personal safety. He brought me the pleasant infor- 
mation that the mob were howling for my head, 
as that of the only Republican, or, as they called it, 
" Black Republican," in the fort. 

Many unfavorable comments having been made, 
even in the Southern States, more particularly in 
Kentucky, in relation to Governor Pickens's treat- 
ment of us, he relaxed his severity, and on the 21st 
sent us over some fresh beef and vegetables ; as 
if we would consent to be fed by the charity of 
South Carolina. Anderson showed a good deal of 
proper spirit on this occasion. He declined to re- 
ceive the provisions, but notified the governor that, 



114 REMINISCENCES OF 

if we were not interfered with, we would purchase 
our own supplies in Charleston market. The gov- 
ernor consented to this; but nothing came of it. 
Thei-e seemed to be a combination among the mar- 
ket-men not to sell us any food. Indeed, this action 
of the governor made him very unpopular with the 
Rhett faction. Ehett rushed over to inform liim 
that the people demanded that Fort Sumter should 
be taken without any further procrastination or de- 
lay. The governor made a very shrewd reply. He 
Baid, " Certainly, Mr. Rhett ; I have no objection ! I 
will furnish you with some men, and you can storm 
the work yourself." Rhett drew back and replied, 
" But, sir, I am not a military man !" "Nor I either," 
said the governor, " and therefore I take the advice 
of those that are !" After this, there was no further 
talk of an immediate assault. The action of the 
governor in this case almost gained him the reputa- 
tion of a wit among the officers of his command. 

Lieutenant Hall being absent on diplomatic duty, 
and Dr. Crawford being temporarily, and Lieuten- 
ant Talbot permanently, on the sick-list, the rest 
of us were utterly worn out with the labor that de- 
volved upon US. Guard duty was especially severe, 
as increased vigilance became necessary, in conse- 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 115 

quence of certain threatening preparations made by 
the enemy. The leaders in Charleston soon saw that 
the joint mission of Hall and Hayne could not pos- 
sibly result in any thing decisive; but as every day 
added to their strength and resources, they did not 
choose to recall their commissioner. They left him 
to continue his arguments in relation to the " right 
of eminent domain," while they prepared for war. 
In the hope that some day they might take us by sur- 
prise, they had the guard-boats, which still patrolled 
the harbor, painted black, and all the lights and fires 
carefully screened from view. They probably in- 
tended to choose a dark night to drop down noise- 
lessly with the tide, and take advantage of a sleepy 
sentinel, or some other favorable circumstance, to 
land a party on the rocks at the base of the wall, 
and seize the main entrance, or make their way in 
through one of the embrasures. 

On the 24th, New York City, speaking through its 
mayor, Fernando "Wood, seemed to offer the right 
hand of fellowship to the Secessionists. Certain 
arms which had been purchased by Georgia, to be 
used against the General Government, were detained 
in New York, and Ex-Senator Toombs telegraphed to 
Wood for an explanation. The latter characterized 



Il6 REMINISCENCES OF 

the detention as an outrage for which he was not re- 
sponsible, and for which he would inflict summary 
punishment, if he had the power. 

Lieutenant Meade returned faithfully on the 25th, 
but brought no news of importance. 

On the 26th, Anderson applied for the code of 
naval signals, so that if a fleet at any time should 
cross the bar, he might communicate with it at a dis- 
tance. 

Up to the 30th we had not been able to procure 
any thing to eat from the city ; but through the in- 
fluence of Mr. Gourdin, who seemed to have a spe- 
cial mission to smooth over all difiiculties, a new ar- 
rangement was made, by which our provisions were 
ostensibly purchased for Fort Johnson, and were for- 
warded to us from there. 

The nearest land to us was called Cummings 
Point. It was nearly opposite the gorge, which was 
the weakest side of Fort Sumter, the wall there be- 
ing thinner than in any other part. The enemy now 
began to build the most formidable of all their bat- 
teries on the i)oint referred to. It was constructed 
of strong timber, plated with railroad iron, and par- 
tially covered with sand. When finished, it Avas re- 
garded as almost impregnable. Steamers from the 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 117 

city passed within a stone's-throw of lis daily, loaded 
with the materials used in its construction, without 
opposition and without remonstrance. 

As it seemed settled that we were to wait until 
Hayne was through with his law-points, and as our 
food, in the mean time, was rapidly giving out, An- 
derson, on the 21st, directed me to make arrange- 
ments with the authorities of Charleston to enable us 
to send off the soldiers' families to Fort Hamilton. 
This was done; and the women and children were 
shipped off to Charleston on the 30th, and transfer- 
red to the steamer Marion, which left for New York 
on the 3d of February. As they passed the fort 
outward-bound, the men gave them repeated cheers 
as a farewell, and displayed much feeling; for they 
thought it very probable they might not meet them 
again for a long period, if ever.* 

* Among these children was a little waif, called Dick Rowley, aft- 
erward known as "Sumter Dick." He had heen abandoned by his 
mother, and thus thrown out on the world. For a time he was sent, 
after his arrival in New York, to the house of Dr. Stewart, who was a 
family connection of mine. After supper he reminded the ladies that 
he had not heard tattoo yet, and wished to know at what hour they 
beat the reveille. He evidently thought every well-regulated family 
kept a drummer and fifer on hand, to sound the calls. He was very 
unhappy until he had procured a small stick and a miniature flag. 



Il8 REMINISCENCES OF 

On the arrival of these famihes at Fort Hamilton, 
!N"ew York, they found themselves in straitened cir- 
cumstances, because, owing to our isolation, the men 
had not been paid off for a long time, and there- 
fore had no money to give their wives, Plymouth 
Church, however, interested itself in their behalf, 
and soon made them comparatively comfortable. 

Had our Government been really disposed, at this 
period, to act with ordinary energy, it might ha\e 
opened a communication with us, and cleared the 
Morris Island channel without much difficulty. There 
were only about three hundred Charleston militia 
guarding the batteries on that island ; and it would 
have been easy for a small force of mariners and sol- 
diers to land there in the night, take the batteries in 
reverse, and drive the troops out, or capture them. 
This once accomplished, re - enforcements and sup- 
plies could have been sent us to any amount. Bu- 
chanan's administration, however, was drawing to a 
close ; and his only desire seemed to be to get 
through his term of office without a collision, leav- 



Eveiy morning at sunrise he hoisted the flag, and carefully lowered 
it and put it away at sunset. He is now a cabinet-maker at Marion, 
Ohio, and recently gained a prize for his excellent workmanship. 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 119 

ing the difficulties and perplexities of his position 
as a legacy to his successor. 

On the 30th, I received an insulting letter from 
Charleston, informing me that, if I were ever caught 
in the city, an arrangement had been made to tar 
and feather me as an Abolitionist. 

February had now arrived. The 4th of the month 
was made memorable by the meeting of the Peace 
Congress at Washington, and by a convention to rep- 
resent the Southern States at Montgomery, Alabama. 

On the 6th, the new Secretary of "War, Judge Holt, 
wrote to South Carolina that the President did not 
intend to inaugurate any aggressive measures ; and 
if the State government attacked Fort Sumter, they 
would incur a fearful responsibility. 

On the 8th, some photographic artists were al- 
lowed to come over and take our portraits in a 
group. I think it proved a profitable speculation, 
for the sale was quite large. One of the party proved 
afterward to be a lieutenant of a Charleston com- 
pany. It seems he came as a spy, and, no doubt, 
thouglit he had done a very clever thing ; but inas- 
much as Mr. Gourdin and other Secessionists, in- 
cluding several military and naval officers, were per- 
mitted to roam throuo-h the fort at will, there was 



REMINISCENCES OF 



very little use in taking precautions against spies. 
Indeed, on one occasion, another Major Anderson, a 
namesake of our commander, came down to Charles- 
ton with a freight-train loaded with shot,- shell, heavy 
guns, and mortars for South Carolina, to be used in 
the batteries against us. He was the owner of the 
celebrated Tredegar Iron Works, of Richmond, Vir- 
ginia, already referred to, and had been enriched by 
the patronage of the United States. I thought it de- 
cidedly cool in him, under the circumstances, to come 
over to call on our Major Anderson. He made no 
attempt at concealment, but stated without reserve 
the object of his trip to the South, To my surprise, 
instead of being summarily expelled, he met with a 
most cordial reception, was in\ ited to stay to dinner, 
and when he left he was dismissed with a "Good- 
bye ! God bless you ! You haven't such a thing as 
a late newspaper about you, have you V 

On the 9th of February, the enemy's batteries 
were completed, manned and ready for action. On 
the same day the Confederate Government was duly 
organized by the election of Jefferson Bavis, of Mis- 
sissippi, as President, and Alexander II. Stephens, of 
Georgia, as Vice-president. Tlie Cabinet consisted 
of Itobert Tooml^B, of Georgia, Secretary of State ; 



J 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 



L. Pope "Walker, of Alabama. Seeretnrv of War; ami 
Charles G. Meimninger. of South Carolina, Seeretarv 
of the Treasury. Afterward, Jndah P. Penjaniin, of 
l.ouisiaua, was appointed Attorney-general ; Stephen 
M. Hallory, of Florida, Secretary of the Xavy ; and 
John II. Eeagan, of Texas, Postmaster-general. Pe- 
ter Gustave T. Beauregard, of Louisiana, was made 
Prigadier-general to command the provisional army. 

By this time we had finished most of our prepa- 
rations, and were busil}' engaged in constructing a 
mine at the extremity of the wharf, for the benetit 
of any hostile party that might land there. 

Lieutenant Hall returned on the 10th. He had 
had a very pleasant time in "Washington, and had 
been petted a good deal by the loyal people of the 
North, but his mission proved of no real benefit to 
the Ignited States, and we had missed him a great 
deal, for we had been very short-handed. 

lie brought nothing definite from the Adminis- 
ti-ation. All the latter desired was to have a peace- 
able death-bed, leaving its burdens for ^Ir. Lincoln's 
slioulders. 

As Hall passed through C^harleston, one of the 
young men there told him there was (piite a revul- 
sion of feeling with regard to attacking Fort Sum- 
("> 



REMINISCENCES OF 



ter. Hall inquired the reason. The reply was, that 
a schooner which had just come in had been in great 
danger from one of our infernal machines, which 
had exploded and whitened the water for three hun- 
dred yards around. It seems that Seymour, who is 
very ingenious, had fastened a cannon cartridge in 
the centre of a barrel of paving-stones, so arranged 
that when the ban-el was rolled off the parapet, the 
powder would explode about five feet from the base 
of the wall. I was trying the experiment one day 
as the schooner passed, and the explosion did look 
very destructive, as the paving-stones dashed up the 
water for a distance of fifty feet from the fort. 

On the 14th, we had two more mines ready for any 
storming party that might desire to land. 

About this time Captain Edward M'Cready, of 
Charleston, who had formerly been very intimate 
with the officers of the garrison, wrote a letter urg- 
ing them to throw off their allegiance to the United 
States, and enter into the Confederate service. No 
one took the trouble to answer it. 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 123 



CHAPTEE IX. 

THE CRISIS AT HAND. 

South Carolina's Grievances.— Inauguration of President Lincoln. — 
Determination to Re-enforce Sumter. — An Audacious Proposal. — 
The Shannon. — New Rebel Batteries Unmasked. — Formal Notice 
of Bombardment. 

We saw advertisements now in the Nortliern pa- 
pers showing that dramas founded on our occupa- 
tion of Fort Sumter, and confinement there, were be- 
ing acted both in Boston and New York. It was 
quite amusing to see our names in the play-bills, and 
to find that persons were acting our parts and spout- 
ing mock heroics on the stage. 

On the 15th, several Southern senators at Wash- 
ington wrote to Governor Pickens, recommending 
that we be allowed fresh provisions, fuel, and other 
necessaries, at the same time expressing their sympa- 
thy with South Carolina. After this the governor 
became more polite and considerate, and allowed 
our ofiicers to send to purchase oil and groceries in 
Charleston. Rhett's paper. The Mercury, of course. 



124 REMINISCENCES OF 

bitterly opposed this concession. We now learned 
that the whole question of Fort Sumter had been 
turned over to the new Southern Confederacy for so- 
lution. 

At this period grievous complaints were made 
by the merchants of the city of the utter stagna- 
tion of trade. All the business had fled to Savan- 
nah. Foreign vessels would not attempt to enter a 
harbor where civil war was raging, especially as it 
was reported that obstructions had been sunk in the 
channel. The Charleston people said they now fully 
understood and appreciated the kindness of the peo- 
ple of Savannah in furnishing them with old hulks 
to destroy the harbor of Charleston. 

When the organization of the new government 
was complete, the original Secessionists of the Pal- 
metto State were exceedingly angry to find them- 
selves ignored. The President, Vice-president, and 
all the prominent members of the Cabinet, with the 
single exception of the Secretary of the Treasury, 
were from other States. Henceforward, instead of 
pretentious leadership, the position of South Caro- 
lina was to be that of humble obedience to the new 
regime. Nor was this their only grievance. Free 
trade was not proclaimed ; and no ordinance was 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 125 

passed to re-open the African slave-trade, inasmuch 
as it would destroy the domestic slave-trade and the 
profits of slave-breeding in Virginia. It was soon 
seen that the associated States differed widely on a 
great many vital points. One of these related to 
Indian incursions into Texas. The Border States, 
owing to the withdrawal of the United States forces, 
desired large appropriations in money, for the pur- 
pose of organizing troops to guard the settlements 
from Indian incursions. The people of South Car- 
olina, whose burdens were already very great, and 
who were advertising in vain for a loan, were very 
unwilling to be taxed for the benefit of Texas and 
Arkansas. In their anger at these untoward events, 
the proposition was freely discussed whether it would 
not be the best course to secede from the Confedera- 
cy altogether, and place themselves under a British 
protectorate. The only difficulty in the way seemed 
to be the unwillingness of Great Britain to act as 
step-father to such a spoiled child as South Carolina. 
Virginia had not yet seceded. She still professed 
neutrality, but allowed a brisk trade in cannon and 
ammunition to be carried on with the South, know- 
ing they were to be used against the General Gov- 
ernment. 



126 REMINISCENCES OF 

Anderson now expressed himself as openly opposed 
to coercion. He was in favor of surrendering all the 
forts to the States in which they were located. This 
course would simply be an acknowledgment that the 
sovereignty did not vest in the United States, and 
would liave led to nothing but disorder and disunion. 
He said if his native State, Kentucky, seceded, he 
should throw up his commission and go to Europe. 
The fact is, as I have stated, he was a strong pro- 
slavery man, and felt bitterly toward the Xorth for 
not carrying out the Fugitive Sla\e Law. He con- 
tended that slavery was right in principle, and ex- 
pressly sanctioned by the Bible. One day, while we 
were conversing on the subject, I called his atten- 
tion to the fact that slaverj' in ancient times was not 
founded on color ; and if white slavery was right, I 
saw no reason why some one might not make a slave 
of him, and read texts of Scripture to him to keep 
him quiet. He was unable to answer this argument.* 

On the 1st of March, he informed the General 
Government that he had no doubt we would soon bo 

* It is due to the major to state that, in a speech made before the 
Board of Brokers in New York, on the 13th of May, he asserted that 
if the question lay between the presen-ation of the Union or the preser- 
vation of slavery, slavery must be sacrificed. 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 127 

attacked. The comraunicatioii, however, led to no 
comment and no immediate action. 

From certain circumstances, I saw that South Car- 
olina not only intended to build iron-clad batteries, 
but was thinking of iron-clad ships, to sink our wood- 
en navy, and at some future time capture our North- 
ern harbors. 

I was so much impressed with the importance of 
this subject that I felt it my duty to call attention 
to it, in letters to Mr. Curtis, of Missouri, and other 
members of Congress ; but no one at the North seem- 
ed to give the matter a second thought, or imagine 
there was any danger to be apprehended in the future. 
It was not so with our enemies. They were fully 
alive to the aggressive power it would give them, 
and they commenced to experiment by building an 
iron -clad floating battery, which was to be plated 
deep enough to resist our heaviest metal. When fin- 
ished, it was to be anchored off the gorge of Fort 
Sumter, so that it could beat down our main gates, 
and make wide breaches in the walls for an assault- 
ing party to enter. This battery was completed on 
the 3d of March ; but the State militia had a great 
prejudice against it, and could not be induced to man 
it. They christened it " The Slaughter Pen," and felt 



REMINISCENCES OF 



certain it would go to the bottom the moment we 
opened fire upon it. Out of deference to public opin- 
ion, it was tied, up to the wharf in Moultrieville, and 
took part from that position in the final bombard- 
ment of Fort Sumter. 

The eventful 4th of March had now arrived, and 
with it a new President, representing the patriotism 
and vigor of the great North-west. We looked for 
an immediate change of policy ; but it was some 
weeks before any definite action was taken with re- 
gard to us. This is not to be wondered at, when 
we consider that a large proportion of the employes 
of the previous Administration were disloyal and 
treacherous, while the new appointments could not 
be made hastily, on account of the tremendous press- 
ure for office, and the difficulty of canvassing the 
claims of so many rival and influential candidates. 
If Mr. Lincoln wrote a private dispatch, it was sure 
to be betrayed to the enemy. The defection in the 
civil service, in the army, and navy, was so great 
that, if he gave an order, he was always in doubt 
whether it would be faithfully carried out. Gen- 
eral Cooper, who was Adjutant -general of the 
army, and the mouth -piece of the Secretary of 
War and of the Commander-in-chief, was himself 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 129 

, a rebel at heart, and soon resigned to join the Con- 
federacy. 

Enough, however, Avas ah-eady known of the pol- 
icy of the Administration to cause great uneasiness 
in Cliarleston. The feeling there was very gloomy 
at the prospect of real war ; for almost ever}'^ one 
had persuaded himself that the new President would 
not attempt coercion, but would simply submit to the 
dismemberment of the country, and make the best 
terms he could. They now knew they would be 
obliged to face the storm they had raised, and they 
already foresaw great sufferings and sacrriices in the 
future. 

On the 5th, Anderson wrote to Washington that 
he needed no re-enforcement. The fact is, he did 
not want it, because its ai-rival would be sure to 
bring on a collision, and that was the one thing he 
wished to avoid. 

Mr. Lincoln soon after appointed Simon Cameron 
as the new Secretary of War. 

On the 7th, an accidental shot, fired from the 
battery opposite, struck near our wharf. The enemy 
sent a boat over at once to make an explanation. 

Our men were dissatisfied that the affair ended 
in nothing. They were becoming thoroughly angry 
6* 



I30 REMINISCENCES OF 

and disgusted at their long confinement, and at 
the supervision South Carolina exercised over them. 
One and all desired to fight it out as soon as pos- 
sible. 

After consultation with Major Anderson, it was 
deemed impossible at Washington to succor us with- 
out sending a force of at least twenty thousand men 
to storm the batteries on Morris Island. There was 
a time when these works could have been easily capt- 
ured ; but now, with the North full of spies, any at- 
tempt to take them by force would have called out 
all the available strength of South Carolina, assist- 
ed by volunteers from other States. On the 10th, it 
was everywhere published that the Administration 
intended to withdraw us; but no admission of the 
kind could be obtained from Mr, Lincoln.* 

Learning that we had nothing but pork and hard 
biscuit to eat, Mr. Haight, a wealthy gentleman of 
New York, sent us several boxes of delicacies. The 
governor, under the impression we were soon to be 

* About this time, my wife, who was in Washington, was veiy much 
surprised at receiving a call from the President. He came quietly to 
request her to show him my letters from Fort Sumter, so that he might 
form a better opinion as to the condition of aiFairs there, more particu- 
larly in regard to our resources. 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 131 

withdrawn, allowed them to come over. They were 
fully appreciated. 

The great tobacconist, John Anderson, of New 
York, also sent a large supply of the best quality of 
tobacco, having learned that the men felt the loss of 
their smoking more than any thing else. 

By this time the South Carolina treasury was in a 
state of collapse. A loan for six hundred and seven- 
ty-five thousand dollars was freely advertised, but no 
one desired to invest. The city trade, however, be- 
gan to be quite brisk again, fi'oni the innnense influx 
of sympathizing strangers that poui-ed into the city 
to see the preparations for war. Goods, too, began 
to come in fi-om all quarters, and tliere was a gleam 
of prosperity. 

On the 20th, G. W. Lay, one of General Scott's 
aids, who had resigned on the 2d of the month, came 
down to offer his services to Governor Pickens. He 
must have liad in his possession much valuable mili- 
tary and diplomatic information, to which his late 
confidential position had given him access. 

On the 21st, another messenger. Captain G.Y.Fox, 
United States Navy, came over to see ns. Captain 
Hartstein, who was an ex- officer of our navy, and an 
old friend of Fox's, was sent witli him, to be within 



132 REMINISCENCES OF 

ear-shotj/and see that be did no harm to the Confed- 
eracy. Fox had an excellent plan of his own in ref- 
erence to us, and came to reconnoitre, and ascertain 
whether it was practicable to carry it out ; for the 
President had now fully determined not to with- 
draw lis, or surrender Fort Sumter without an effort 
to hold and re-enforce it. Indeed, there came up an 
indignant roar from the great North-west, ^nd many 
parts of the North, that could not be disregarded 
with impunity. To have done so would almost have 
created a revolution. 

I was struck by one modest question which Ilart- 
stein put to me on this occasion. He asked if I 
thought Anderson would object to his anchoring the 
iron-plated floating- battery within a hundred yards 
of our main gates. Upon my expressing my sur- 
prise at such an audacious proposal, he replied, "An- 
derson has allowed these batteries to be built around 
liim, and has permitted so many things to be done, 
that I don't see why he should not go a step farther 
and allow this." 

On the 22d, we learned that Beauregard had as- 
sumed command of the forces opposite to us. As he 
had just left our army, where he had been highly 
trusted and honored, it is said he displayed a good 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 133 

deal of feeling at finding himself opposed to the flag 
under wliicli he had served so long. He expressed 
much sympathy for liis old friend, Anderson, who, 
he stated, was merely fulfilling his duty as a soldier 
in fighting for his own Government, and asserted that 
lie would not attack us, even if we withdrew all our 
sentinels, but would force us to surrender by cutting 
off our supplies. 

On the 23d, we had but two days' regular fuel 
left, but we had contrived to secure and utilize 
a number of floating logs as they passed the fort, 
and these increased the amount on hand to some 
extent. 

Anderson now had no doubt that we would be 
withdrawn, and the papers all gave out the same 
idea. Under these circumstances, as we were out 
of fuel, and had a large number of surplus gun-car- 
riages on hand which we could not- possibly use, and 
which would inevitably fall into the hands of the 
enemy when we left, I suggested that it would be 
good policy to use them for fire-wood, especially as 
many of them were decayed and worthless. He 
would not, however, consent to tliis. Perhaps he 
thought fuel at six hundred dollars a cord was rath- 
er dear. The result was that they were finally all 



134 REMINISCENCES OF 

turned over to the Confederacy, with the other pub- 
lic property on hand. ^'dJL 

On the 25th, Colonel Ward Qi. Lamon, the former 
law-partner of Mr. Lincoln, came over to visit us un- 
der charge of Colonel Duryea, of Charleston. It was 
given out that he was sent as an agent of the Gener- 
al Government to see Governor Pickens in relation 
to post-office matters, but in reality he came to con- 
fer with Anderson, and ascertain the amount of pro- 
visions on hand. He took with him the important 
information that our food would be out by the mid- 
dle of April. ^ 

On the 28tii, Beauregard sent a message of some 
kind to Anderson. I do not know its purport. 
The latter stated to us that he expected decisive 
orders from Washington on the 29th, bnt none 
came. 

The 1st of April arrived, and as the heavy work 
of mounting guns, etc., was completed, our command- 
er thought it would be a good idea to send off the 
hired laborers, and he intrusted Captain Foster to 
ask permission of the rebel authorities to allow them 
to land. The request was granted, and all left with 
the exception of a few, who desired to remain with 
us and share our fortunes. Amona: tliom was Mr. 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 135 

AVilliam O. Lyman, the principal overseer of the ma- 
sons, a brave and reliable man. 

On the 3d of April, another affair occurred similar 
to that of the Star of the ^ye8t. The schooner R. H. 
Shannon^ of Boston, under Captain Mounts, en route 
for Savannah with a cargo of ice, sailed into the har- 
bor of Charleston on account of a fog. As the cap- 
tain did not read the papers, he did not know that 
any thing unusual was going on. A battery on 
Morris Island fii-ed a shot across the bow of his ves- 
sel to bi'ing her to. Yery much astonished at this 
proceeding, he ran np the Stars and Stripes to show 
that he was all right. This was regarded as a direct 
defiance, and a heavy cannonade was at once open- 
ed on the vessel. Very much puzzled to account 
for this hostility, he lowered his flag, and the firing 
ceased. A boat's crew now put off from the shore 
to ascertain his character and purpose in entering the 
harbor. While this was going on, we were formed 
at our guns, in readiness to fire, but were not allowed 
to do so, although thei'c was every probability that 
the vessel would be sunk before our eyes. It is true 
we could not have reached the particular battery that 
was doing the mischief ; but the other works of the 
enemy were all under our guns, and, not expecting 



136 REMINISCENCES OF 

immediate action, were in a measure unprepared. 
Anderson, however, contented himself with sending 
Sejnnour and Snyder over in a boat with a white 
flag to ask for an explanation, with the usual result : 
Lieutenant Talbot and Lieutenant Snyder were then 
sent over to have an interview with the governor in 
relation to this matter. This being far from satis- 
factory. Lieutenant Snyder returned to Fort Sumter, 
and Lieutenant Talbot kept on his way to Washing- 
ton with dispatclies. 

Although this affair attracted very little attention 
or comment at the North, I was convinced, from the 
major's depression of spirits, that it acted a great deal 
upon his mind. He evidently feared it might be 
considered as a betrayal of his trust, and he was very 
sensitive to every thing that affected his honor, 
*^ I have alread}^ stated the reasons for his inaction. 
Li amplifying his instructions not to provoke a col- 
lision into instructions not to fight at all, I have no 
doubt he thought he was rendering a real service to 
the country. He knew the first shot fired by us 
would light the flames of a civil war that would con- 
vulse the world, and tried to put off the evil day as 
long as possible. Yet a better analysis of the situa- 
tion miffht have taus^ht him that the contest had al- 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 137 

ready commenced, and could no longer be avoided. 
The leaders of the South at this period would hardly 
have been satisfied with the most abject submission 
of the anti-slavery party to all their behests. In fact, 
every concession made to their wishes seemed to 
them to be dictated by the weakness of the Govern- 
ment, and its fears of internal dissensions and civil 
war in all the great cities of the North. They need- 
ed blood and the prestige of a victory to rouse the 
enthusiasm of their followers, and cement the rising 
Confederacy. They wanted a new and powerful 
slave empire, extending to the Isthmus of Panama, 
and for this a direct issue must be made with the 
free States. In vain did a member of Congress, who 
afterward became a distinguished Union general, offer 
in Richmond to raise an army of twenty thousand 
men in the North to fight the abolitionists, if the 
South would consent to remain in the Union. Even 
this was not deemed sufficient or satisfactory. Slav- 
ery had so long dominated every thing with a rod of 
iron, that its votaries deemed it was born to universal 
dominion. All the pathways to political power, all 
the avenues of promotion in the army and navy, lay 
in that direction. '^ General Scott was accustomed to 
say that " with Virginia ofiicers and Yankee troops 



138 REMIXISCENCES OF 

he could conquer the world," and this implied that 
slave-holders, in his opinion, were the only men fitted 
to command. ^ 

Washington was too full of spies for the rebel 
leaders to remain in ignorance of Lincoln's inten- 
tion to re-enforce us. On the 6th of April, Beaure- 
gard restricted our marketing to two days in the 
week. On the 7th, it was wholly cut off, and we no- 
ticed gangs of negroes hard at work strengthening 
the defenses on Morris Island. Every thing beto- 
kened that the conflict would soon take place. An- 
derson was greatly troubled at the failure of all liis 
plans to keep the place. The rebels knew, and per- 
haps he knew, that on the 6th and 7th of April a 
number of naval vessels had left Kew York and Nor- 
folk under sealed orders. Their destination could 
hardly be doubted. Lieutenant Talbot reached 
Washington on the 6th, but was immediately sent 
back with a message from the President to Govern- 
or Pickens, notifying the latter that the Government 
intended to provision Fort Sumter at all hazards. 
This formal notice was given by the President, prob- 
ably because lie considered himself bound to do so 
before putting an end to the semi-pacific code which 
had ffoverued Anderson's intercourse with the forces 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 139 

around him ever since the departure of Hall and 
Hajne for Washington. 

Talbot delivered his message on the Sth. Beau- 
regard immediately telegraphed the information to 
the rebel Secretary of War, at Montgomery, Ala- 
bama, and received orders on the 10th to open fire 
at once upon Fort Sumter. 

I think it was on the 9th that the official letter 
came, notifying Anderson that a naval expedition 
liad been sent to om* relief, and that he must co-oper- 
ate y\nth it to the best of his ability. He communi- 
cated this information to us on the 10th, but desired 
it should be kept secret. The prepai-ations we were 
obliged to make told the men plainly enough, how- 
ever, that the fighting was about to commence. The 
news acted like magic upon them. They had pre- 
viously been drooping and dejected ; but they now 
sprung to their work with the greatest alacrity, laugh- 
ing, singing, whistling, and full of glee. They were 
overjoyed to learn that their long imprisonment in 
the fort would soon be at an end. They had felt 
themselves humiliated by the open supervision which 
South Carolina exercised over us, and our tame sub- 
mission to it. It was very galling to them to see 
the revenue-cutter, which had been stolen from the 



I40 REMINISCENCES OF 

United States, anchored within a stone's cast of our 
walls, to watcli our movements and overhaul every 
thing coming to or going from the fort, including 
our mail-boat. 

On the 10th, Beauregard announced his personal 
staff to consist of Colonels Wigfall, Chestnut, Means, 
M'Gowan, Manning, and Boyleston. 

On the same day, a house directly opposite to us 
in Moultrieville, at the nearest point, was suddenly 
removed, disclosing a formidable masked battery, 
which effectually enfiladed two rows of our upper 
tier of guns in barbette, and took a third tier in re- 
verse. It was a sad surprise to us, for we had our 
heaviest metal there. I set to work immediately to 
construct sand-bag traverses; hut it was difficult to 
make much progress, as we had no bags, and were 
obliged to tear up sheets for tlie purpose, and have 
the pieces sewed together. Tliis labor, however, 
was entirely thrown away, for Anderson ordered us 
to abandon all the guns on the parapet. This, of 
course, was much less dangerous for the men, but 
it deprived us of the most powerful and effective 
part of our armament. 

About 3 P.M. of the same day, a boat came over 
with Colonel James Chestnut, Ex-United States Sen- 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 141 

ator, and Captain Stephen D. Lee, both aids of Beau- 
regard. They bore a demand for the surrender of 
the fort. Anderson politely declined to accede to 
this request, but stated in conversation he would 
soon be starved out. This gratuitous information 
ought never to have been given to the enemy, in 
view of the fact that a naval expedition was on its 
way to us. It was at once supposed that Anderson 
desired to surrender without fighting; and about 
11 P.M. another boat came o\er, containing Colonel 
Chestnut, Colonel Prj^or, and Captain Lee, to inquire 
upon what day he would be willing to evacuate the 
work in case he was not attacked. The answer was, 
on the 15th at noon, provided he did not receive 
fresh instructions, or was not relieved before that 
time. As we had pork enough on hand to last for 
two weeks longer, there was no necessity for fixing 
so early a day. It left too little margin for naval 
operations, as, in all probability, the vessels, in case of 
any accident or detention, would arrive too late to 
be of service. This proved to be the case. 

The enemy's batteries on Sullivan's Island were 
so placed as to fire directly into the officers' quarters 
at Fort Sumter; and as our rooms would necessa- 
rily become untenable, we vacated 4hem, and chose 



142 REMIiVISCENCES OF 

points that were more secure. I moved my bed 
into a magazine which was directly opposite to Cum- 
mings Point, and which was nearly empty. As I 
was sensible that the next three days would call for 
great physical exertion and constant wakefulness, I 
endeavored to get all the sleep I could on the night 
of the 11th. About 4 a.m. on the 12th, I was awak- 
ened by some one groping about my room in the 
dark and calling out my name. It proved to be 
Anderson, who came to announce to me that he 
had just received a dispatch from Beauregard, dated 
3.20 A.M., to the effect that he should open fire upon 
us in an hour. Finding it was determined not to 
return the fire until after breakfast, I remained in 
bed. As we had no lights, we could in fact do noth- 
ing before that time, except to wander around in the 
darkness, and fire without an accurate view of the 
enemy's w^orks. 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 143 



CHAPTER X. 

THE BOMBARDMENT. 

The First Shot.— Defective Guns. — John Carmody's Exploit. — De- 
structive Effects of the Bombardment. — Burning of the Officers' 
Quarters. — Terrific Conflagration. 

As soon as the outline of our fort could be distin- 
guished, the enemy carried out their programme. It 
had been arranged, as a special compliment to the 
venerable Edmund Ruffin, who might almost be call- 
ed the father of secession, that he should fire the first 
shot against us, from the Stevens battery on Cum- 
mings Point, and I think in all the histories it is 
stated that he did so ; but it is attested by Dr. 
Crawford and others who were on the parapet at the 
time, that the first shot really came from the mortar 
battery at Fort Johnson.* Almost immediately aft- 
erward a ball from Cummings Point lodged in the 
magazine wall, and by the sound seemed to bury it- 

* I have since learned that the shell from Fort Johnson was not a 
hostile shot, but was simply intended as a signal for the firing to com- 
mence. 



144 REMINISCENCES OF 

self iu the masonry about a foot from my liead, in 
very unpleasant proximity to my right ear. This is 
the one that probably came witli Mr. Ruffiu's com- 
pliments. In a moment the firing burst forth in one 
continuous roar, and large patches of both the ex- 
terior and interior masonry began to crumble and 
fall in all directions. The place where I was had 
been used for the manufacture of cartridges, and 
there was still a good deal of powder there, some 
packed and some loose. A shell soon struck near 
the ventilator, and a puff of dense smoke entered the 
room, giving me a strong impression that there would 
be an immediate explosion. Foi-tunately, no sparks 
had penetrated inside. 

"^ Nineteen batteries were now hammering at ns, anrl 
the balls and shells from the ten-inch columbiads, 
accompanied by shells from the thirteen-inch mortars 
which constantly bombarded us, made us feel as if 
the war had commenced in earnest. 

AVhen it was broad dayliglit, I went down to break- 
fast. I found the officers already assembled at one 
of the long tables in the mess-hall. Our party were 
calm, and even somewhat merry. We had retained 
one colored man to wait on us. He was a spruce- 
looking mulatto from Charleston, very active and 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 145 

efficient on ordinary occasions, but now completely 
demoralized by the thunder of the guns and crash- 
ing of the shot around us. He leaned back against 
the wall, almost white with fear, his eyes closed, and 
his whole expression one of perfect despair.* Our 
meal was not very sumptuous. It consisted of pork 
and water, but Dr. Cj-awford triumphantly brought 
forth a little farina, which he had found in a corner 
of the hospital. 

When this frugal repast was over, my company 
was told off in three details for tiring purposes, to 
be relieved afterward by Seymour's company. As I 
was the ranking officer, I took the first detachment, 
and marched them to the casemates, which looked 
out upon the powerful iron -clad battery of Cum- 
mings Point. 

In aiming the first gun fired against the rebellion 
I had no feeling of self-reproach, for I fully believed 
that the contest was inevitable, and was not of our 
seeking. The United States was called upon not 

* In this he was an exception to most negroes. Those I have seen 
in the colored regiments in Texas have shown themselves to be among 
the best and most reliable men in the service for operations against the 
Indians. It was a line of negroes that charged over the torpedoes at 
Mobile. 



146 REMINISCENCES OF 

only to defend its sovereignty, but its right to exist 
as a nation. The only alternative was to submit to 
a powerful oligarchy who were determined to make 
freedom forever subordinate to slavery. To me it 
was simply a contest, politically speaking, as to wheth- 
er virtue or vice should rule. 

My first shot bounded off from the sloping roof of 
the battery opposite without producing any apparent 
effect. It seemed useless to attempt to silence the 
guns tliere ; for our metal was not heavy enough to 
batter the work down, and every ball glanced harm- 
lessly off, except one, which appeared to enter an em- 
brasure and twist the iron shutter, so as to stop the 
firing of that particular gun. 

I observed that a group of the enemy had vent- 
ured out from their intrenchments to watch the ef- 
fect of their fire, but I sent them flying back to their 
shelter by the aid of a forty-two-pounder ball, which 
appeared to strike right in among them. 

Assistant-surgeon Crawford, having no sick in hos- 
pital, volunteered to take command of one of the de- 
tachments, lie and Lieutenant Davis were detailed 
at the same time with me; and I soon licard their 
guns on the opposite side of the fort, echoing my 
own. They attacked Fort Moultrie with great vigor. 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 147 

Our firing now became regular, and was answered 
from the rebel guns which encircled us on the four 
sides of the pentagon upon which the fort was built. 
The other side faced the open sea. Showers of balls 
from ten-inch columbiads and forty - two - pounders, 
and shells from thirteen - inch mortars poured into 
the fort in one incessant stream, causing great flakes 
of masonry to fall in all directions. When the im- 
mense mortar shells, after sailing high in the air, 
came down in a vertical direction, and buried them- 
selves in the parade-ground, their explosion shook 
the fort like an earthquake.* 

Our own guns were ^•ery defective, as they had no 
breech-sights. In place of tliese, Seymour and mj- 

* The troops and defenses on Morris Island were commanded by 
Brigadier - general James W. Simons, The artillery was under the 
command of Colonel Wilmot G. De Saussure, of the South Carolina 
Artillery Battalion. 

Sullivan's Island was commanded by Brigadier-general John Dun- 
ovant, formerly an officer of the United States Army. His second 
in command was Lieutenant-colonel Roswell S. Eipley, of the South 
Carolina Artillery Battalion, formerly of our army. 

M.njor N. G. Evans, assistant adjutant - general, commanded on 
James Island. 

The battery at Mount Pleasant was under the command of Captain 
Kobert Martin, of the South Carolina Infantry. 



148 REMINISCENCES OF 

self were obliged to devise notched sticks, which an- 
swered the purpose, but were necessarily very imper- 
fect. 

Our fort had been built with reference to the pen- 
etration of shot when the old system of smooth-bore 
guns pre^'ailed. The balls from a new Blakely gun 
on Cummings Point, however, had force enough to 
go entirely through the wall which sheltered us, and 
some of the fragments of brick which were knocked 
out wounded several of my detachment. None were 
seriously hurt except Sergeant Thomas Ivirnan, of 
my company. His contusions were se^•ere, but did 
not keep him out of the fight. 

After three hours' firing, my men became exhaust- 
ed, and Captain Seymour came, with a fresh detach- 
ment, to relieve us. He has a great deal of humor 
in his composition, and said, jocosely, "Doubleday, 
what in the M'orld is the matter here, and what is all 
this uproar about ?" 

I replied, " There is a trifling difference of opinion 
between us and our neighbors opposite, and we are 
trying to settle it." 

" Yery well," he said ; " do you wish me to take a 
hand?" 

I said, " Yes, I would like to have you go in." 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 149 

'What is your elevation, 
and range ?" 

I replied, "Five degrees, and twelve hundred 
yards." 

" Well," he said, " here goes !" And he went to 
work with a will. 

Part of the fleet was visible outside the bar about 
half-past ten a.m. It exchanged salutes with us, but 
did not attempt to enter the harbor, or take part in 
the battle. In fact, it would have had considerable 
difficulty in finding the channel, as the marks and 
buoys had all been taken up. It was composed orig- 
inally of the frigates Pawnee^ under- Coumiodore 
Rowan ; the PocaJiojitas, under Captain Gillis ; the 
Pmohatan, under Captain Mercer ; the steam trans- 
port Baltic, under Captain Fletcher ; and, I believe, 
the steam -tugs Yankee, Uncle Ben, and another, 
which was not permitted to leave New York. The 
soldiers on board consisted of two hundred and fifty 
recruits from Governor's Island, under command of 
First Lieutenants E. M. K. Hudson, of the Fourth, 
and Robert O. Tyler, of the Third Artillery, and Sec- 
ond Lieutenant A. I. Thomas, of the First Infantry. 

This expedition was designed by Captain Fox, in 
consultation with G. W. Blunt, William H. Aspin- 



I50 REMIiYISCENCES OF 

wall, Kussel Sturges, and others. After the event 
much obloquy was thrown upon the navj' because 
it did not come in and engage the numerous batter- 
ies and forts, and open for itself a way to Charles- 
ton ; but this course would probably have resulted in 
the sinking of every vessel. 

As far back as December I had written to New 
York that it was very difficult for a gun on shore to 
liit a small boat dancing on the waves in the day- 
time, and at night it is almost impossible. I suggest- 
ed, therefore, that we might be re-enforced and pro- 
visioned by means of a number of small boats, sup- 
plied from several naval vessels as a base of opera- 
tions. The same idea had occurred to Captain Fox ; 
and on the present occasion he had brought thirty 
launches to be used for this purpose. They were to 
be manned by three hmidred sailors, and in case they 
were assailed, the fleet was to protect them as far 
as possible by its guns. Unfortunately, the different 
vessels did not reach the rendezvous together. The 
Pawnee and Pocahontas arrived on the 12th, but 
lost a great deal of time in waiting for the Powha- 
tan^ which contained the launches and other arrange- 
ments, without which a boat expedition could not be 
organized. The Powhatan never appeared, having 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 151 

been unexpectedly detached, by order of the Presi- 
dent, at the solicitation of Secretary Seward, and 
without consultation with the l^Tavy Department. I 
think the Balt'iG was detained by running upon Kat- 
tlesnake Shoal. The steam-tug TInole Ben was driv- 
en into Wilmington by a storm, and the Yankee did 
not make its appearance until the IStli. The ex- 
pedition was thus an utter failure. Nevertheless, a 
passing schooner was purchased and loaded up with 
provisions and soldiers, and an attempt would have 
been made to run in on the night of the 13th, but 
by that time it w^as too late. The fort had surren- 
dered. 

Having explained this matter, we will now resume 
the narrative of our operations. For the next three 
hours a vigorous Hre was kept up on both sides. A 
great many shots were aimed at our flag -staff, but 
nearly all of them passed above the fort and struck 
in the water beyond. I think we succeeded in si- 
lencing several guns in Fort Moultrie, and one or 
more in the Stevens battery. 

Wlien Seymour's three hours w^ere up, I relieved 
him, and continued the firing. As our balls bounded 
off the sloping iron rails like peas upon a trencher, 
utterly failing to make any impression, and as the 



152 REMINISCENCES OF 

shot from tlie Blakel}^ gun came clear tlirougli oni' 
walls, Anderson directed that the men should cease 
firing at that particular place. I regretted very much 
that the upper tier of guns had been abandoned, as 
they were all loaded and pointed, and were of very 
heavy calibre. A wild Irish soldier, however, named 
John Carmody, slipped up on the parapet, and, with- 
out orders, fired the pieces there, one after another, 
on his own account. One of the ten-inch balls so 
aimed made quite an impression on the Cummings 
Point battery ; and if the fire could have been kept 
up, it might possibly have knocked the iron-work to 
pieces. 

After my detachment had abandoned the case- 
mate opposite the Blakely gun, to my great aston- 
ishment the battery I had left recommenced firing. I 
could not imagine who could have taken our places. 
It seems that a group of the Baltimore workmen had 
been watching our motions, and had thus learned the 
duties of a cannoneer. In spite of their previous de- 
termination not to take part in the fight, they could 
not resist the fun of trying their baud at one of the 
guns. It was already accurately pointed, and the 
ball struck the mark in the centre. The men attrib- 
uted it to their own skill, and when I entered they 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 153 

were fairly in convulsions of laughter. One of tlieni, 
in answer to mj question, gasped out, " I hit it square 
in the middle." After this first attempt, each of 
them was desirous of trying his skill at aiming. The 
result was, tliat we soon had them organized into a 
firing-party. 

Finding one of my chests had been left in the of- 
ficers' quarters, and that it would probably be knock- 
ed to pieces by the shells, I asked the mulatto, who 
still sat back against the wall, apparently asleep, to 
bear a hand and help me bring it out. He opened 
his eyes, shook his head dolef ally, and said, " De ma- 
jor, he say, I muss not expose myself." 

If I mistake not, Roswell S. Ripley, formerly a 
brevet major in our army, fired the second or tliird 
shot to bring down the flag under which he had 
served for so many years, Ripley was born in Ohio, 
ai)pointed from New York, and educated at the Mil- 
itary Academy. He had, therefore, even on the 
Southern theory of State rights, no necessary afiilia- 
tion with the South. In fact, they always despised a 
man who joined them to fight against his own State. 
In one instance, Jeff Davis himself had to use all his 
influence to induce the Southern troops to obey one of 
these Northern generals. Ripley had previously been 
7* 



154 REMINISCENCES OF 

engaged as au agent for Sliarpe's Arms Company in 
Europe ; and, having been unsuccessful there, came 
to Charleston, with the hope of repairing his shat- 
tered fortunes by selling guns to South Carolina. 
Througli the influence of Colonel linger, of our Ord- 
nance Department, who was in the city at the time, 
Eipley failed in this, aad, being entirely out of em- 
ployment, accepted a commission from the Confed- 
eracy to fight against his old comrades. Being a 
man of talent, and a skillful artillerist, he did us a 
great deal of harm. Like all Northern converts, he 
thought it necessary to be overzealous in his new po- 
sition, to do away with the suspicions excited by his 
birth and education. I was told at the time that for 
this purpose he took pains to denounce me as an 
Abolitionist, and to recommend that I be hanged by 
the populace as soon as caught. 

The firing continued all day, witliout any special 
incident of importance, and without our making 
much impression on the enemy's works. They had 
a great advantage over us, as their fire was concen- 
trated on the fort, which was in the centre of the 
circle, while ours was diffused over the circumfer- 
ence. Their missiles were exceedingly destructive 
to the upper exposed portion of the work, but no es- 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 155 

seiitial injury was done to the lower casemates which 
Bheltered ns. 

Some of these sliellsjhowever, set the officers' quar- 
ters on fire three times; but the flames were prompt- 
ly extinguished once or twice through the exertions 
of Peter Hart, whose activity and gallantry were 
very conspicuous. 

The night was an anxious one for us, for we 
thought it probable that the launches, filled witli 
armed men from the fleet, might take advantage of 
the darkness to come in with provisions and sup- 
plies. Then, too, it was possible that the enemy 
might attempt a night attack. We were on tlie 
alert, therefore, with men stationed at all the embra- 
sures; but nothing nnusnal occurred. The batter- 
ies fired upon us at stated intervals all night long. 
We did not return the fire, having no ammunition to 
waste. 

On the morning of the 13th, we took our breakfast 
— or, rather, our pork and water — at the usual hour, 
and marched the men to the guns when the meal 
was over. 

From 4 to O-J a.m. the enemy's fire was very spirit- 
ed. From 7 to 8 a.m. a rain-storm came on, and 
there was a lull in the cannonadino-. About 8 a.m. 



156 REMINISCENCES OF 

the officers' quarters were ignited by one of Rip- 
ley's incendiary shells, or by shot heated in the fur- 
naces at Fort Monltrie. The fire was put out; but 
at 10 A.M. a mortar shell passed tlirough the roof, 
and lodged in tlie flooring of the second story, where 
it burst, and started the flames afresh. This, too, was 
extinguished; but the hot shot soon followed each 
other so rapidly that it was impossible for us to con- 
tend with them any longer. It became evident that 
the entire block, being built with wooden partitions, 
floors, and roofing, must be consumed, and that the 
magazine, containing three liundred barrels of pow- 
der, would be endangered ; for, even after closing the 
metallic door, sparks might penetrate through the 
ventilator. The floor was covered with loose pow- 
der, where a detail of men had been at work manu- 
facturing cartridge - bags out of old shirts, woolen 
blankets, etc. 

While the officers exerted themselves witli axes to 
tear down and cut away all the wood-work in the 
vicinity, the soldiers were rolling barrels of powder 
out to more sheltered spots, and were covering them 
with wet blankets. The labor was accelerated by 
the shells which were bursting around us; for Eip- 
ley had redoubled his activity at the first signs of a 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 157 

conflagration. Wg only succeeded in getting out 
some ninetj-six barrels of powder, and then we were 
obliged to close the massive copper door, and await 
the result. A shot soon after passed through the in- 
tervening shield, struck the door, and bent the lock 
in such a way that it could not be opened again. 
AYe were thus cut off from our supply of ammuni- 
tion, but still had some piled up in the vicinity of 
the guns. Anderson officially reported only four 
barrels and three cartridges as on hand when we 
left. 

By 11 A.M. the conflagration was terrible and dis- 
astrous. One-fifth of the fort was on fire, and the 
wind drove the smoke in dense masses into the angle 
where we had all taken refuge. It seemed impossi- 
ble to escape suffocation. Some lay down close to 
the ground, with handkerchiefs over their mouths, 
and others posted themselves near the embrasures, 
where the smoke was somewhat lessened by the 
draught of air. Every one suffered severely. I 
crawled out of one of these openings, and sat on the 
outer edge ; but Ripley made it lively for me there 
with his case-shot, which spattered all around. Had 
not a slight change of wind taken place, the result 
might have been fatal to most of us. 



158 REMINISCENCES OF 

Our tiring having ceased, and the enemy being 
very jubihuit, I thought it would be as well to show 
them that we were not all dead yet, and ordered the 
gunners to fire a few rounds more. I heard after- 
ward that the enemy loudly cheered x\nderson for 
his persistency under such adverse circumstances. 

The scene at this time was really terrific. Tlie 
roaring and crackling of the flames, the dense mass- 
es of whirling smoke, the bursting of the enemy's 
shells, and our own which were exploding in the 
burning rooms, the crashing of the shot, and the 
sound of masonry falling in every direction, made 
the fort a pandemonium. When at last nothing v/as 
left of the building but the blackened walls and 
smoldering embers, it became painfully evident that 
an immense amount of damage had been done. There 
v/as a to'wer at each angle of the fort. One of these, 
containing great quantities of shells, upon which we 
had relied, was almost com2:)letely shattered by suc- 
cessive explosions. Tlie massive wooden gates, stud- 
ded with iron nails, were burned, and the wall built 
behind them was now a mere heap of debris, so that 
the main entrance was wide open for an assaulting 
party. The sally-ports were in a similar condition. 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 159 

liad been planked up, had now become all open en- 
trances. 

About 12.48 P.M. the end of the flag-staff was shot 
down, and the flag fell.* It had been previously 
hanging by one halliard, the other having been cut 
by a piece of shell. The exultation of the enemy, 
however, was short-lived. Peter Hart found a spar 
in the fort, which answered very well as a temporary 
flag-staff. He nailed the flag to this, and raised it 
triumphantly by nailing and tying the pole firmly to 
a pile of gun-carriages on the parapet. This was gal- 
lantly done, without undue haste, under Seymour's su- 
pervision, although the enemy concentrated all their 
fire upon the spot to pre\'ent Hart from carrying out 
his intention. From the beginning, the rebel gun- 
ners had been very ambitious to shoot the flag down, 
and had wasted an immense number of shots in the 
attempt. 

While the battle was going on, a correspondent 
of the New Yoi'h Trihme, who was in Charleston, 
wrote tliat the populace were calling for my head. 
Fortunately, I was not there to gratify them. My 



* It is claimed that this shot was fired by Lieutenant W. C. Preston, 
of South Carolina. 



l6o REMINISCENCES OF 

relations with tlie gentlemen of Charleston had al- 
ways been friendly. The enmity of the mob was 
simply political, and was fonnded on the belief that 
I was the only " Black Kepnblican," as they termed 
it, in the fort. 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. l6l 



CHAPTER XI. 

THE EVACUATION. 

Senator Wigfall's Volunteer Mission. — Terms of Evacuation Settled. 
—The Question of Casualties on the Other Side. — Salute to the 
Flag. — Occupation of the Fort by Southern Troops. — Embarka- 
tion. — Welcome in New York. — Conclusion. 

Theke was a large, first-class wooden hotel, near 
the shore, on Sullivan's Island, called the Moultrie 
House. It was only kept open during the summerj 
and was a favorite resort, for planters and others, to 
enjoy the fresh sea-breeze, and the beautiful drive 
np the beach at low tide. Since the rebel occupa- 
tion of Fort Moultrie, this hotel had been nsed as a 
depot and barracks for the troops in the vicinity. 
Just before the attack was made upon ns, the Pal- 
metto flag, which had waved over the building, was 
taken down ; but I noticed with a spy-glass that there 
was still quite a number of people, apparently troops, 
remaining in the house. I saw no reason why the 
mere lowering of the flag should prevent us from fir- 
ing at them. I therefore aimed two forty-two pound- 



1 62 REMINISCENCES OF 

er balls at the upper story. The crashing of the shot, 
which went through the whole length of the building 
among the clapboai'ds and interior partitions, must 
have been something fearful to those who were with- 
in. They came rushing out in furious haste, and 
tumbled over each other until they readied tlie bot- 
tom of the front steps, in one writhing, tumultuous 
mass. 

When we left Fort Sumter, a South Carolina of- 
ficer, who seemed to feel aggrieved in relation to 
this matter, asked me why we fired at that building. 
Not caring to enter into a discussion at that time, I 
evaded it by telling him the true reason was, that 
the landlord had given me a wretched room there 
one night, and this being the only opportunity that 
had occurred to get even with him, I was unable to 
resist it. He laughed heartily, and said, " I under- 
stand it all now. You were perfectly right, sir, and I 
justify the act." 

About 2 P.M., Senator Wigfall, in company with 
"W. Gourdin Young, of Charleston, unexpectedly 
made his appearance at one of the embrasures, hav- 
ins: crossed over from Morris Island in a small boat, 
rowed by negroes. He had seen the flag come down, 
and supposed that we had surrendered in consequence 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 163 

of tlie burning of the quarters. This visit was sanc- 
tioned by the commander of Morris Island, Briga- 
dier-general James W. Simons. An artiller^'-man, 
serving his gun, Mas very much astonished to see a 
man's face at the entrance, and asked him what he 
was doing there. AVigfall replied that he wished to 
see Major Anderson. The man, however, refused to 
allow him to enter until he had surrendered himself 
as a prisoner, and given up his sword. This done, an- 
other artillery-man M'as sent to bring an officer. Lieu- 
tenant Davis came almost immediately, but it took 
some time to find Anderson, who was out examining 
the condition of the main gates. I was not present 
during this scene, or at the interview that ensued, as 
I w^as engaged in trying to save some shells in the 
upper story from the effects of the fire. Wigfall, in 
Beauregard's name, oifered Anderson his own terms, 
which were, the evacuation of the fort, with permis- 
sion to salute our flag, and to march out with the hon- 
ors of war, with our arms and private baggage, leav- 
ing all other war material behind. As soon as this 
matter was arranged, Wigfall returned to Cummings 
Point. 

In the mean time, Beauregard having noticed the 
white flag, sent a boat containing Colonel James 



1 64 REMINISCENCES OF 

Chestnut, and Captain Lee, Colonel Eoger A. Pryor, 
and Colonel William Porchcr Miles, to ascertain the 
meaning of the signal. A second boat soon followed, 
containing Major D.^. Jones, who was Beauregard's 
adjutant -general. Ex -Governor J. L. Manning, and 
Colonel Charles Alston. 

Miles and Piyor were exceedinglj- astonished when 
they heard that Wigfall had been carrying on nego- 
tiations in Beauregard's name, and stated that, to 
their certain knowledge, he had had no communica- 
tion with Beauregard. They spoke of the matter 
with great delicacy, for AVigfall was a parlous man, 
and quick to settle disputed points with the pistol. 
Anderson replied with spirit that, under the circum- 
stances, he would run up his flag again, and resume 
the firing. Tliey begged him, however, not to take 
action until they had had an opportunity to lay the 
whole subject before General Beauregard ; and An- 
derson agreed to wait a reasonable time for that pur- 
pose. The boat then returned to the city. In due 
time another boat arrived, containing Colonels Chest- 
nut and Chisholm, and Captain Stephen D. Lee, all 
aids of Beauregard. They came to notify Major An- 
derson that the latter was willing to treat with him 
on the basis proposed. Colonel Charles Alston soon 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 165 

came over with Major Jones (who was chief-of-staff 
to Beauregard, and adjutant-general of the Provis- 
ional Army), to settle the details of the evacuation. 
There was some dilBculty about permitting us to sa- 
lute our flag ; but that, too, was finally conceded. In 
case we held out for another day, the rebels had made 
arrangements to storm the fort that night. 

During all these operations, our officers and men 
behaved with great gallantry. Hall, Snyder, and 
Meade had never been under fire before, but they 
proved themselves to be true sons of their Alma Ma- 
ter at West Point. 

The first contest of the war was over, and had 
ended as a substantial victory for the Secessionists. 
They had commenced the campaign naked and de- 
fenseless ; but the General Government had allowed 
them time to levy an army against us, and we had 
permitted ourselves to be surrounded with a ring of 
fire, from which there was no escape, l^or had we 
employed to the fullest extent all our available 
means of defense, No attempt liad ever been made 
to nse the upper tier of guns, which contained our 
heaviest metal, and which, from its height, overlook- 
ed the enemy's works, and was, therefore, the most 
efiicient part of our armament. Although the fire 



1 66 REMINISCENCES OF 

of our colunibiads, under ordinary circumstances, 
could not quite reach the city, we had arranged one 
of them to point upward at the maximum angle. As 
the carriage would not admit of this, the gun was 
taken off, and made to rest on a bed of masonry. 
Seymour and myself thought, by loading it with ec- 
centric shells, we could incjrease the range of the guns 
so that the balls would reach that part of Charleston 
which was nearest to us ; but we were not allowed 
to use the gun at all. It seemed to me there was a 
manifest desire to do as little damage as possible. 

About eighteen liundred shot had been fired into 
Fort Sumter, and the upper story was pretty well 
knocked to pieces. To walk around the jmrapet, we 
had constantly to climb over heaps of debris. With 
all this expenditure of ammunition, we had but one 
man dangerousl}^ wounded. This was John Schwei- 
rer, foreman of the Baltimore brick-layers. He was 
struck by a piece of shell while standing near the 
open parade-ground. So long as our men fought in 
the lower casemates, which were shell-proof, the ver- 
tical fire could not reach them ; and by drilHng them 
to step one side of the embrasure whenever they saw 
the flash of a gun opposite, they escaped the danger 
of being struck by any ball which might enter the 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 167 

opening; so that, on the whole, they ran very little 
risk. Had thej' used the guns on the parapet, the 
number of casualties would have been greatly in- 
creased, but our missiles would have been much 
more effective. 

When William Porcher Miles was about to enter 
the boat to return to Charleston, he told our com- 
mander that none of the secession soldiers were in- 
jured by our fire. Anderson raised his hands and 
ejaculated, " Thank God for that !" As the object 
of our fighting was to do as much damage as possi- 
ble, I could see no propriety in thanking Heaven for 
the small amount of injury we had inflicted. I have 
since had reason to suspect, from se\'eral circum- 
stances, that the contest was not as bloodless as it 
was represented to be at the time. The coxswain 
of the boat that brought Miles over heard liim make 
the remark that no one was hurt on the rebel side. 
The man stared at him for a moment in undisguised 
amazement, and then stepped aside behind an angle 
of the work, Avhere he could indulge in a hearty fit 
of laughter. His whole action was tliat of one who 
thought his chief had been indulging in romance. 
Of course Miles believed the assertion, or he would 
not have made it. 



1 68 REMINISCENCES OF 

The fact is, Fort Moultrie was all slivered and 
knocked to pieces; and as I heard so much in ref- 
erence to the narrow escapes of officers and soldiers 
tliere, 1 concluded that, if no one was hurt, a miracle 
must have taken place. The rebel who carried dis- 
patches between Fort Moultrie and Mount Pleasant 
in a small boat was in a position to know, and he told 
Peter Ilart, some years after the war, that a schoon- 
er, to his certain knowledge, came from Charleston 
during the battle, and took off a number of killed 
from Fort Moultrie, who were taken to Potter's Field, 
on Cooper Eiver, and buried there on Saturday, at 
4^ A.M. I had previously seen the same story pub- 
lished as coming fi'om Charleston. A similar state- 
ment was made, on his arn\al in New York, by the 
mate of the schooner D. B. Pitts, and it purported 
to be founded on his own observation. 

When we left Fort Sumter for New York, a man 
of my company, named Fielding, was seriously in- 
jured by an explosion, and left behind in the hospi- 
tal at Charleston. He was frequently visited there 
by an old comrade, named Galloway, wlio was one 
of our discharged soldiers. Galloway laughed at the 
idea that no one had been injured, and told Fielding 
that he himself had served in Furt Moultrie during 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 169 

the bombardiiieut, and had seen with his own eyes a 
number of killed and wonnded there. If Galloway's 
story is true, Ripley may have concealed his losses, 
as he did not wish to have us appear more successful 
than he had been. I believe there were a great many 
Irish laborers enlisted in Fort Moultrie, and their loss 
would hardly have excited a remark in aristocratic 
Charleston. It is said, too, that a list of killed and 
wounded was posted up on a bulletin-board in the 
city, and afterward torn down, for fear that it might 
discourage the troops. On the other hand, the asser- 
tion of men holding high official position on the oth- 
er side, that no one was killed or injured, would seem 
to leave little room for doubt. 

When Beauregard received notice that Anderson 
was willing to ratify the terms agreed upon, he sent 
over another boat, containing Colonel Miles, Colonel 
Pryor, Ex-Governor Manning, Major Jones, and Cap- 
tain Hartstein, to arrange the details of the evacua- 
tion. 

Almost a fatal accident occurred to Roger A. Pry- 
or shortly after his arrival in the fort. He was sit- 
ting in the hospital at a table, with a black bottle 
and a tumbler near his right hand. The place was 
quite dark, having been built up all around with 



I70 REMINISCENCES OF 

boxes of sand, to render it shell-proof. Being thirsty, 
and not noticing what he did, he mechanically pick- 
ed np the bottle, poured some of the liquid into the 
glass, and drank it down. It proved to be iodide of 
potassium, which is quite a poisonous compound. 
When I saw him, he was very pale, and leaning on 
the shoulder of Dr. Crawford, who was taking him 
out on the grass to apply the stomach-pump. He 
was soon out of danger. Some of ns questioned the 
doctor's right to interpose in a case of this kind. It 
was argued that if any rebel leader chose to come 
over to Fort Sumter and poison himself, the Medical 
Department had no business to interfere with such a 
laudable intention. The doctor, however, claimed, 
with some show of reason, that he himself was held 
responsible to the United States for the medicine in 
the hospital, and therefore he could not permit Pryor 
to cany any of it away. 

All of the preliminaries having been duly adjusted, 
it was decided that the evacuation should take place 
the next morning. Our arrangements were few and 
simple, but the rebels made extensive preparations 
for the event, in order to give it the greatest eclat^ 
and gain from it as much pi-estige as possible. The 
population of the surrounding country poured into 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. ijl 

Charleston in vast multitudes, to witness the humili- 
ation of the United States flag. We slept sound!}' 
that night for the first time, after all the fatigue and 
excitement of the two preceding days. 

The next morning, Sunday, the 14th, we were up 
eai'lv, packing our baggage in readiness to go on 
board the transport. The time having arrived, I 
made pre})ai'ations, by order of Major Anderson, to 
fire a national salute to the flag. It was a dangerous 
thing to attempt, as sparks of fire were floating around 
everywhere, and there was no safe place to deposit 
the amujunition. In that portion of the line com- 
manded by Lieutenant Hall, a pile of cartridges lay 
under the muzzle of one of the gnus. Some flre had 
probably lodged inside the piece, which the sponging 
did not extinguish, for, in loading it, it went off pre- 
maturely, and blew^ off the right arm of the gunner, 
Daniel Hough, who was an excellent soldier. His 
death was almost instantaneous. He was the first 
man who h^st his life on our side in the war for the 
Union. The damage did not end here, for some of 
the fire from the muzzle di-opped on the pile of cart- 
ridges below, and exploded them all. Several men 
in the vicinity were blown into the air, and seriously 
injured. Their names were George Fielding, John 



172 REMINISCENCES OF 

Irwin, George Pincharcl, and Edwin Galway, and, I 
tliink, James Haves. The first- named being very 
badly liurt, was left behind, to be cared for by the 
rebels. He was sent over to Charleston, vrhere he 
M-as well treated, finally cured, and forwarded to us 
without being exchanged. 

The salute being over, the Confederate ti'oops 
marched in to occupy the fort. The Palmetto Guard, 
Captain Cuthbert's company, detailed by Colonel 
De Saussure, and Captain Ilollinquist's Company B, 
of tlie regulars, detailed by Colonel Eipley, consti- 
tuted the new garrison under Eipley.* Anderson di- 
rected me to form the men on the parade-ground, as- 
sume command, and march them on board the trans- 
port. I told him I should prefer to leave the fort 
with the flag flying, and the drums beating Yankee 
Doodle, and he authorized me to do so. As soon as 
our tattered flag came down, and the silken banner 
made by the ladies of Charleston was run up, tre- 
mendous shouts of applause were heard from the 

* Edmund Ruffin entered tlie fort as a volunteer eiisij^n of tlie Pal- 
metto Guard ; Captain Samuel Ferguson received the keys of Fort 
Sumter, and raised the Confederate flag over the ramparts ; Lieuten- 
ant-colonel F. J. Moses raised the State flag. ISIoses has since fig- 
ured as the Republican governor of South Carolina. 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 173 

vast multitude of spectators; and all the vessels and 
steamers, M'itli one accord, made for the fort. Cor- 
poi-al Bringhurst came running to tell me that many 
of the approaching crowd were shouting my name, 
and making threatening demonstrations. The dis- 
order, however, was immediately quelled by the ap- 
pearance of Hartstein, an ex-officer of our navy, who 
threw out sentinels in all directions, and prevented 
the mob from landing. 

The bay was alive with floating craft of every de- 
scription, filled with people from all parts of the 
South, in their holiday attire. As I marched out at 
the head of onr little band of regulars, it must have 
presented a strange contrast to the numerous forces 
that had assailed us ; some sixty men against six 
thousand. As we Avent on board the Isabel, with the 
drums beating the national air, all eyes were fixed 
npon ns amidst the deepest silence. It was an hour 
of triumph for the originators of secession in South 
Carolina, and no doubt it seemed to them the cul- 
mination of all their hopes ; but could they have 
seen into the future with tlie ejQ of prophecy, their 
joy might have been turned into mourning. Who 
among them could have conceived that the Charles- 
ton they deemed so invincible, which they boasted 



174 REMINISCENCES OF 

\voiilcl never be polluted bj the footsteps of a Yan- 
kee invader until every son of the soil had shed the 
last di'op of his blood in her defense — who could 
have imagined that this proud metropolis, after much 
privation and long-suffering from lire and bombard- 
ment, would finally surrender, without bloodshed, to 
a negro regiment, under a Massachusetts flag — the 
two most abhorred elements of the strife to the 
proud people of South Carolina? Who could have 
imagined that the race they had so despised was des- 
tined to govern them in the future, in the dense ig- 
norance which the South itself had created, by pro- 
hibiting the education of the blacks? 

My story is nearly done. We soon reached the 
Baltic, and were received with great sympathy and 
feeling by the army and navy officers present. 
Among the latter was Captain Fox, who afterward 
became the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. 

It is worthy of remark that, after we had left the 
harbor. Bishop Lynch, of Charleston, threw the Catlu 
olic influence in favor of the Secessionists by cele- 
brating the Southern victory by a grand Te Deum. 

We arrived in New York on the 19th, and were 
received with unbounded enthusiasm. All the pass- 
ino- steamers saluted us with their steam-whistles and 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 175 

bells, and cheer after cheer went up from the ferry- 
boats and vessels in the harbor. We did not attempt 
to land, bnt came to anchor in the stream, between 
Governor's Island and the Battery. Several distin- 
guished citizens at once came on board, and Major 
Anderson was immediately carried off to dine with 
Mr. Lloyd Aspinwall. As somebody had to remain 
with the troops and attend to their wants, I accom- 
])anied them to Fort Hamilton, where we soon found 
ourselves in comfortable quartei's. Nearly all of the 
officers obtained a furlough innnediately ; bnt I re- 
mained in command of the fort during the tempora- 
ry absence of Major Anderson, wlio was soon after 
permanently detached from ns. 

Our captivity had deeply touched tlie hearts of 
the people, and every day tlie number of visitors al- 
most amounted to an ovation. The principal city 
papers, the Tribune^ Times, Herald, and Evening 
Post, gave ns a hearty welcome. For a long time 
the enthusiasm in New York remained nndimin- 
ished. It was impossible for ns to venture into the 
main streets withont being ridden on the shoulders 
of men, and torn to pieces by hand-shaking. Shortly 
after our ai-rival, Henry Ward Beeclier came down 
to the fort to meet us, and made a ringing speech, 



176 REMINISCENCES OF 

full of fire and patriotism. It seemed as if every 
one of note called to express his devotion to the 
cause of the Union, and 'his sympathy with us, who 
had been its humble representatives amidst the per- 
ils of the first conflict of the war. 

As I have stated, of the officers who were engaged 
in the operations herein narrated, but four now sur- 
vive. 

George W. Snyder was the first to leave us. He 
was present in the battle of Bull Eun, attained the 
brevet of captain, and died in Washington, District 
of Columbia, on the 17th of November, 1861. 

Theodore Talbot became assivStant-adjutant-gener- 
al, with the rank of major, and died on tlie 22d of 
April, 1862, also in Washington. 

Ei(.'hard K Meade was induced, by the pressure 
of social and family ties, to resign his commission in 
our army. He became a rebel officer, and died at 
Petersburg, Virginia, in July, 1862. 

Norman J. Hall became colonel of the Seventh 
Michigan Yolunteers, and received thi-ee brevets in 
the regular army, the last being for gallant and dis- 
tinguished services at Gettysburg. He died on the 
26th of May, 1867, at Brooklyn, New York. 

John L. Gardner received the brevet of brio;adier- 



FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE. 177 

general, and was retired at the comniencenient of the 
war. He died at Wihnington, Delaware, on the 19th 
of February, 1869. 

Robert Anderson was made a brigadier -general, 
and afterward a brevet major-general, for his serv- 
ices at Fort Sumter. He served about six months 
as Commander of the Department of Kentucky and 
of the Cumberland, and was then obliged to leave 
the field in consequence of ill health. He was re- 
tired from active service on the 2Tth of October, 
1863, and died at Nice, in France, on the 26th day 
of October, 18Y1. 

Lastly, John G. Foster, after a brilliant career as 
.commander of a department and army corps, died at 
jSTashua, Is"ew Hampshire, September 2d, 1874. 

Each of us who survive became major-general 
during the rebellion, and each now holds the same 
grade by bre\et in the regular army. 

Mr. Edward Moale, the citizen who remained with 
ns, did excellent service in the war. At present he 
is a brevet lieutenant-colonel in the regular army. 

This statement of events was completed at Xew 
York, April 14th, 1875, on the fourteenth anniversa- 
ry of the evacuation of Fort Sumter. 
8^- 



APPENDIX 



List of Officers and Enlisted Men present at the Bomhardinent of 
Fort Sumter, April 12th and IBth, 1861. 



COMMISSIONED OFFICERS. 
Major Egbert Anderson, First United States Artillery. 
Captain Abner Doubleday, First United States Artiller}'. 
Captain Truman Seymour, First United States Artillery. 
First Lieutenant Jefferson C. Davis, First United States Artillers 
Second Lieutenant Norman J. Hall, First United States Artillery. 
Captain J. G. Foster, United States Engineers. 
Lieutenant G. W. Snyder, United States Engineers. 
Lieutenant R. K. Meade, United States Engineers. 
Assistant Surgeon S. W. Crawford, United States Army. 



ENLISTED MEN. 
Ordnance-sergeant James Kearney, United States Army. 
Quartermaster-sergeant William H. Hammer, First United States Ar 
tillery. 

Regimental Band, First Artillery. 



Sergeant James E. Galway. 
Corporal Andrew Smith. 
Private Andrew Murphy. 
" Fedeschi Onoratti. 



Private Peter Rice. 
" Henry Schmidt. 
" John Urquhart. 
" Andrew Wickstrom. 



Company E, First Artillery. 



First Sergeant Eugene Scheibner 
Sergeant Thomas Kirnan. 

" William A. Harn. 

" James Chester. 



Corporal Owen M'Guire. 
" Francis J. Oakes. 
" Charles Bringhurst. 
" Henry Ellerhrook. 



i8o 


APPENDIX. 


Musician Charles Hall. 


Private Daniel Hougli. 


Private Philip Aiidernian. 


" John Irwin. 




John Einil Noack. 


" James M 'Donald, 




Cornelius Baker. 


" Samuel Miller. 




Thomas Carroll. 


" John Newport. 




Patrick Clancy. 


" George Pinchard. 




John Davis. 


" Frank Rivers. 




James Digdara. 


" Lewis Scin'oeder. 




George Fielding. 


" Cari A. Sellman. 




Edward Gallway. 


" John Thompson. 




James Gibbons. 


" Charies H. Tozer. 




James Hays. 


" William Witzman. 




Company H, First Artillery. 


First Sergeant John Kenelian. 


Private John Laroche. 


.Sergeant James M'Malion. 


" Frederick Meier. 


" 


John Carmody. 


" James Moore. 


" 


John Otto. 


" William Morter. 


Corpoi 


al Christonlier Costolan. 


" Patrick Neilan. 


Musician Kobert Foster. 


" Jolin Nixon. 


Artificer Henry Strandt. 


" Michael O'Donald. 


Private Edward Brady. 


" Robert Roe. 




Barney Cain. 


" AVilliam Walker. 




John Doran. 


" Joseph Wall. 




Dennis Johnson. 


" Edmond Walsh. 




John Kehoe. 


" Henry R. Walter. 




Jolni Klein. 


" Herman Will. 




John Lanagan. 


" Tliomas Wishnowski. 




Frederick Lintner. 


" Casper Wutterpel. 




John Magill. 





List of Mechanics and Employes present in Fort Sumter during the 
Bombardment, April 12th and \Zth, 18G1. 

Employes of the Engineer Department. 



George Coons, mason. 
John Schweirer, " 
John Buckley, smith. 

Wm. O. Lymnn, overseer. 



John Lindsay, rarpen^er. 
John Saxton, rigger. 
James Tweedle, smith. 



APPENDIX. 



Michael Berne. 
John Burns. 
John Branley. 
Peter Caine. 
Patrick Conner. 
Michael Cummins. 
William Dorsey. 
Edward Davis. 
Patrick Donahoe. 
Peter Donley. 
"William Eagen. 
Andrew Felton. 
Michael Goff. 
James Hewlett. 
Patrick Heeney. 
Andrew Lindsey. 

Samuel Abraze. 



Laborers. 

Dennis Magrath. 
John M'Carty. 
James M'Mahon. 
Michael Meecliins. 
Thomas Murphy. 
Thomas Myers. 
William Powers. 
Edward Quinn. 
Patrick Quinn. 
Martin Raft'erty. 
John Eiley. 
Michael Ryan. 
Jeremiah Ryan. 
James Ryan. 
James Shea. 

Cooks. 

1 Patrick Walsh. 



The following is taken from a South Carolina official document, hut 
it seems somewhat defective in detail : 

List of Confederate Batteries constructed with a View to the Reduc 
lion of Fort Sumter. 



ON MORRIS ISLAND. 

Brigadier-general James W. Simons, commanding ; Colonel Wilmot 

G. De Saussure, commanding Artillery Battahon. Lieutenant J. 

R. Macbeth, Captain J. Jones, and Lieutenant P. L. Childs, 

acting as aids to Colonel De Saussure. 



STEVENS BATTERY. (Fired 1200 shots.) 
Three Eight-inch columbiads. 
Garrisoned by the Palmetto Guard, Captain George B. Cuthbert 
commanding; Lieutenant G. L. Bdist. The ammunition was 
served out by Mr. Philips an 6.Mr. Caaipbell. One gun was dis- 
abled on Friday. 



APPENDIX. 



CUMMINGS POINT BATTERY. 
Two forty-two-pounders, three ten-inch mortars, one Blalcely gun. 
Garrisoned by a detachment of the Palmetto Guard, and by cadets 
from the Citadel Academy in Charleston. Captain J. P. Thomas, 
of tlie Citadel Academy, commanding Blakely gun ; Lieutenant C. 
R. Holmes, of the Citadel Academy, commanding mortars ; Lieu- 
tenant W. W. Arjistkong, of the Citadel Academy, at the mortars ; 
Second Lieutenant Thomas Sumter, of the Palmetto Guard, in 
charge of tiie forty-t\vo-}30unders. 



CHANNEL BATTERY. (Did not fire.) 
Captain Calhoun, commanding; First Lieutenant A. M.Wagner; 
Lieutenant Sitgreaves ; Second Lieutenant M. C. Preston. 



ON JAMES ISLAND. 
Major N. G. Evans, A. A. G., commanding. 



BATTERY OF TWENTY-FOUR-POUNDERS. 

Captain George S. James, commanding. 

MORTAR BATTERY. 

First Lieutenant "VV. H. Gibbes, of the Artillery; Lieutenant H. S. 

Farley; Lieutenant J. E. M'Pherson, Washington; Lieutenant 

T. B. Hatne ; Doctor Libbt. 

UPPER BATTERY. (Fired 2425 shots.) 
Two ten-inch mortars. 

LOWER BATTERY. 

Two ten-inch mortars. 

Captain S. C. Thayer, of the S. C. Nav}-, commanding. 



ON SULLIVAN'S ISLAND. 

Brigadier -general John Dunoa'ant, commanding. Lieutenant-col- 
onel Kt)S\VELL S. Ripley, comm nding the Artillery; Captain J. 



APPENDIX. 183 



B. Burns, of General Dunovant's staff; Surgeons P. J. Rokin- 
SON, R. F. Mitchell, and Arthur Lynch; Assistant - surgeons 
D. W. Taylor, Doctor F. F. Milks, Doctor F. L. Parker. 



THE IRON-CLAD FLOATING BATTERY. (At the Cove. Fired 1900 shots.) 
Two forty-two-pounders. Two thirty -two -pounders. 

Garrisoned by Company D, of the Artillery. Captain James Ham- 
ilton; First Lieutenant J. A. Yates, Second Lieutenant F. H. 
Harleston. 

THE DAHLGREN BATTERY. (Near the Floating Battery.) 
One nine-inch Dahlgren gun. 
Garrisoned by Company D, of the Artillery. Captain S. R. Hamil- 
ton ; Mr. John Wells. 

THE ENFILADE BATTERY. (Fired 1825 shots.) 
Garrisoned by Company K, of the Artillery, Captfiin James H. Hal- 
lonquist, Company B, of the Artillery, commanding ; First Lieu- 
tenant J. Valentine, B. S. Burnett. 

MOETAR BATTERY, NO. 1. (Between Fort Moultrie and the Cove.) 
Captain James H. Hallonquist, Company B, of the Artillery, com- 
manding. Lieutenant O. Blanding, Lieutenant Fleming. 



FORT MOULTRIE. (Fired 1825 shots.) 
Three eight-inch columbiads, two thirty-tico-pounders, four tweiity- 
f our -pounders. 
Garrisoned by the Artillery Battalion under Lieutenant-colonel Rip- 
ley. Captain W, R. Calhoun, Company A, of the Artillery, ex- 
ecutive officer. 

SUMTER BATTERY. (Pacing south-south-west.) 
Lieutenant Alfred Rhett, Company B, Artillery, commanding; 
Second Lieutenant John Mitchell, Jun. ; Mr. F. D. Blake, Vol- 
unteer Engineer. 

OBLIQUE BATTERY. (Ou the west.) 

Two twenty-four-pounders. 

Lieutenant C. W. Parker, Company D, of the Artillery. 



1 84 APPENDIX,. 



MORTAR BATTERY, No. 2. (East of Fori Moultrie.) 
Two ten-inch mortars. 
Captain William Butler, of the Infantry; Lieutenant J. A. Huge- 
NiN. E. MuA\ RY, Mr. Blocker, Mr, Billings, and Mr. liicE as- 
sisted. This battery was joined to the Maffit Channel Battery. 

THE TRAPIER BATTERY. (Fh-ed ISOO fhots.) 
Three ten-inch mortars. 
Garrisoned by the Marion Artillery, J. Gadsden King, commanding. 
Lieutenant W. D. H. Kirk wood, J. P. Strohecker, A. M. Hc- 
GER, E. L. Parker. The Marion Artillery was afterward relieved 
by the Sumter Guard, nuder Captain John IIcssell. 



AT MOUNT PLEASANT. 

'BATTERY. (Fired 2925 shots.) 
Two ten-inch mortars. 
Captain Robert Martin of the Infentry, commanding; Lieutenant 
G. N. Reynolds, Company B, of the Artillery ; Lieutenant D. S. 
Calhoun, of the Infantry. 



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